The Long, Hard Road
by zavyntara
Summary: Sequel to "What Is Happiness?" What happened to Harry and Draco? Will they survive? Slash
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

~~~

"Welcome back, everyone," Albus Dumbledore announced at dinner the first day back to Hogwarts after Easter break.

The students at the front end of Gryffindor table became worried when they saw that their Headmaster's face was blank. They wondered whether this had anything to do with the fact that two of their friends, Draco Snape and Harry Potter, were missing from the feast.

Hermione Granger's eyes glanced up and down the High Table, to see what kind of moods the other teachers were in. Severus and Katie Snape sat together, their hands clasped together and resting on the tabletop. They both looked extremely worried and upset. All of the other professors had solemn expressions on their faces. Then Hermione saw a different face at the table: Remus Lupin? He looked even more worn and haggard than normal.

"Some of you realize that two of your peers are not with us this evening," Dumbledore continued. "I regret to inform you that Draco Snape and Harry Potter have been taken by Death Eaters and are being held by Lord Voldemort." Many people flinched at the use of the Dark Lord's name. "They were kidnapped a week ago, and I've managed to keep it out of the newspapers, so that I could tell you myself. We are trying to find out where they are at this moment, but all that we can really do now is wait. If any of Draco's or Harry's friends would like to talk to somebody, their families are here, as am I."

The Hall was silent, except for the quiet whispers of students who were making up theories about what had happened. After the food appeared on the tables, several students began to eat and talk as though nothing had happened.

Hermione, the Weasley twins, and Ginny Weasley had lost their appetites. Their best friends had been kidnapped! Who could eat after hearing that? Looking up at the High Table, Hermione saw that Remus, Severus, and Katie weren't eating, either. After a few moments, Severus and Katie left the Hall all together, and Remus soon did the same. Hermione stood and ran after Remus, who stopped and turned when he heard her calling him. He gave her a small smile, and she returned it, along with a hug.

"He'll be all right," Hermione told him, her shaky voice betraying her confident statement. "Both of them will. Harry always manages to get out of these situations."

"We'll see," Remus replied, quietly. "Soon, I hope."

~~~

Draco opened his eyes and found himself in pitch darkness, lying on a cold, hard floor. He sighed with relief when he realized that his head lay in Harry's lap. Harry was awake, gently stroking Draco's hair.

"How long do you think we've been here?" Draco wondered, his voice weak and hoarse from screaming.

"A week, maybe more?" Harry guessed. He winced as he shifted his broken arm to a more comfortable position. "I've been trying to contact Dumbledore… It almost worked a couple of times, but… I don't have enough energy…"

"Wait a while to try again," Draco said, softly, as he sat up, laying his head on the other boy's shoulder. He squeezed Harry's hand. "If you wait several hours, it may work better."

"I'm so tired, Draco," Harry murmured, caressing Draco's fingers with his own. "So tired…"

"Go to sleep," Draco whispered. "If you go to sleep, they won't beat you as bad. They'd want you to be awake for it." The two stiffened as they heard someone coming closer to the cell door. In a tiny light coming from the person's wand, they saw that it was a Death Eater, grinning maliciously.

Lucius Malfoy.

"Well, well, look who's put who in a cell now," he sneered. "Time for my revenge, my dear son."

"I am not your son," Draco barely choked out before being hit by the Cruciatus.

~~~

"Snape, we need to talk," Sirius said, rubbing his face as he and Severus made their way off to the side of Dumbledore's office. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a bastard when we were in school, I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. We need to make a truce, once and for all, because if we want our kids back, we need to work together." Severus nodded.

"Agreed, and apology accepted," he said, quietly. They shook hands, then went back to sit in the office with their families.

"Daddy?" Kayla said, climbing into Remus's lap on the sofa. "When's Harry coming home? I miss him."

"Honey, we've told you," Remus sighed, resting his cheek on top of his daughter's head. "We don't know when Harry's coming home. Do you remember us telling you about the man who took Harry's mummy and daddy from him?" Kayla nodded, her eyes wide. "He took Harry and Draco, and he doesn't want to give them back. But we're going to try really hard, and we'll get them to come home. Me, Dad, Uncle Albus, Uncle Severus, and Aunt Katie; we're going to bring Harry and Draco home. All right?"

"Why did he take Harry and Draco?" Kayla wondered, laying her head on Remus's shoulder. 

"I don't know, sweetheart," Remus murmured, rubbing her back. "Why don't you and Sean go into Uncle Albus's living room and take a nap? We'll wake you for supper." Sirius looked at Sean, who nodded and led his sister into the next room.

"Albus, it's been two weeks," Katie whispered. "Do you think they're still alive?" Dumbledore sighed, stroking his beard.

"Chances are slim," he replied, quietly. "But there is still hope. I think that Harry tried to speak to me telepathically a couple of days ago, but he must have been too weak, or too far away. There are several aurors still trying to find out where Voldemort is hiding, and where Harry and Draco are being held, and they're getting closer every day."

"But that's another day closer to their…" Sirius swallowed hard, not wanting to say the word 'death.' All was silent for a moment. Severus leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees and clutching his head in his hands.

"I will _not_ give up," he growled, suddenly. "Our _sons_ are being held captive by that bastard, and so help me, I'm going to get them back alive, even if it kills me." He stood and headed for the door, but Dumbledore's gentle voice stopped him.

"Severus, stop," he said, softly. He crossed the room and placed a hand on Severus's shoulder. "You can't go out there and find them yourself. You can't risk getting yourself killed. You have a wife and an unborn baby to take care of _here_. Let the aurors do their job. Everything will be fine."

Dumbledore led Severus back to the sofa, where the younger man sat back down with his wife. Katie hugged him tightly, and Severus proceeded to do something that he hadn't let anyone see him do in over twenty-five years.

Severus Snape cried.

~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Nicky: I suppose what children call their adoptive parents depends on their relationship with them. For example, Harry with Sirius and Remus: Harry hasn't had family who loved him since Lily and James died. Then come two people who love him more than anything and adopt him, treat him like their own _real_ son, and he loves them as well. I think that he'd like to have someone to call 'Daddy' or whatever. I don't think it really matters what age they are. But hey, it's just fiction. Anything's possible. *smile* Thanks for the review. Oh, and about "Changes," I'm kind of stuck on that one. I'm mainly focusing on _this_ story now, but as soon as I get over my "Changes" writer's block, I'll try to update as soon as I can!

Now, off to Chapter 2.

~~~

Harry cringed as he was thrown to the cold, concrete floor of the dungeon cell. The door was pulled shut, and Harry collapsed on the floor. Blood and lacerations covered his body, and he was in so much pain. Draco crawled over to him, pulling the beaten boy into his lap and cradling him in his arms.

"Shh, love, relax," Draco whispered. He frowned when he heard Harry's shallow breathing. "I'll take care of you." Harry picked his head up and looked at his boyfriend with dull green eyes.

"They're not going to come for us," Harry mumbled with a tone of defeat. "We're going to die here, Draco, they're not coming¼" He broke down in tears, and Draco hugged him to his chest.

"They'll come," Draco murmured. "I know they will."

"They should have found us by now¼ It's been so long. Why are they taking so long?"

"I don't know, honey," Draco sighed, gently running his fingers through Harry's raven-black hair. "But we'll get out of here. I know it." Harry didn't hear anymore as darkness claimed him again.

~~~

Fred, George, Ginny, and Hermione entered the quarters that Dumbledore had set aside in the castle for the Lupin-Black family. Remus led them into the living room, where Sirius was sitting on the floor, playing with Muggle Legos with the kids. Both older men were pale and sickly-looking. Sirius closely resembled the man that he'd been after escaping from Azkaban. He had lost a lot of weight, he hadn't shaved, and his eyes were empty. 

"Fred, George!" Kayla squealed, jumping up and hugging the twins, whom she had quickly come to like.

"Hey, you," George said, tickling her. She giggled and slapped his hands away.

"What brings you lot here?" Sirius wondered.

"We figured you and Moony could use a break," Fred replied. "Go relax, sleep for a few hours. You need it. We'll watch the little ones." Sirius's eyes narrowed.

"No pranks while we're sleeping?"

"Of course not!" George exclaimed. "What on Earth do you take us for? Just go on. We'll be fine in here. We won't leave the room, and if we do, we'll leave a note or something. All right?"

"Come on, Padfoot," Remus said, pulling on Sirius's hand. "Even if Fred and George turn out to be incompetent baby-sitters, at least Hermione and Ginny are here as well. They'll be fine for a few hours." Sirius gave in, and the two went into their bedroom. The Weasleys and Hermione sat on the floor with Sean and Kayla.

"What are you playing with?" Ginny wondered, picking up one of the blocks and examining it.

"Legos, but they're boring," Sean sighed. "They don't move or anything." George pointed his wand at the Legos and muttered a few words, and blocks arranged themselves into buildings, while the little Lego people and vehicles began to move on their own. "Wow, cool!" Fred sat on the sofa, with Kayla in his lap, while everyone else played with the Legos.

"That silver?" Kayla asked, pointing at Fred's necklace and backing away a little. Fred glanced down.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that, sweetheart," he said. He took the necklace off and shoved it into his pocket, and Kayla relaxed in his lap again.

"Daddy and Dad don't keep anything silver in our house," she told him. "'Cause it hurts me and Sean and Daddy. But Harry fixes it for us if we get hurted. I can't get hurted now, though, 'cause Harry's not here to fix it for me." She looked up at Fred. "How long's Harry been gone?"

"Almost three weeks," Fred sighed.

"That's a long time. Is he ever gonna' come home? I miss him."

"I sure hope so, Kayla. We miss him, too."

~~~

"Harry?"

Draco looked up from the floor and saw his boyfriend, huddled in a corner and shivering. Draco crawled over to him, ignoring the searing pain throughout his body, and hugged Harry, trying to warm him up.

"Harry, I know where we are," Draco said, quietly.

"What does it matter?" Harry whispered, his voice strained. "We can't tell anyone _else_ where we are... Not that they'd come and get us, anyway..."

"They're going to come," Draco said, as firmly as he could, considering how weak he felt. "They love us. They won't let us die like this."

"Where are we, then?" Harry sighed. 

"Malfoy Manor," Draco murmured. "He changed it around a bit, but there's...words written on the floor... Words I wrote all the times I was kept down here."

"I-I'll try to talk to them again," Harry whispered, closing his eyes. His body suddenly went limp in Draco's arms as he passed out.

~~~

"Harry?"

The voice seemed to be shouting into his ear, but he ignored it. Instead, he took comfort in the darkness surrounding him. The voice spoke again.

"Harry, love?"

Turning his head a little, he let out a moan of pain. He still did not open his eyes. He felt light pressure on his forehead.

"I hope you wake up soon..."

~~~

"Draco? Draco, where are you?"

A strangled scream made Harry snap his eyes open. Draco had been making it a point for the past several days--weeks?--not to scream during torture. Something was wrong.

The dungeon was lit up, and Harry looked around. In the middle of an open space was a group of Death Eaters in robes. Draco lay on the floor, in front of them. The remains of his torn, thin clothes had been ripped from his body, and he was now being beaten by the Dark Lord himself. The Death Eaters cackled and laughed sinisterly as they watched Voldemort hitting Draco and touching him all over his body.

Seeing the look of fear and vulnerability on Draco's face caused Harry to seethe in anger. He brought himself to his feet, standing on shaky legs and clenching his fists at his sides. He glared menacingly at the group, and especially at Voldemort. Nobody had noticed that he'd awoken.

Summoning all of his adrenaline and natural energy, Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He focused his energy and opened his eyes again, still glaring at the wizard who was torturing _his_ lover. Harry let out a growl and began to rapidly mutter a rhyme. His voice was quiet with anger at first, but it grew louder as he repeated the words.

"Enemies of mine, those whom I hate, fall down now and accept thy fate." He repeated this rhyme over and over again, not even knowing where it had come from. "Enemies of mine, those whom I hate, fall down now and accept thy fate. _Enemies of mine, those whom I hate, fall down now and accept they fate. **ENEMIES OF MINE, THOSE WHOM I HATE, FALL DOWN NOW AND ACCEPT THY FATE!**_" 

By now, Harry was shouting as loudly as he could, and everyone had turned to watch him. No one dared to brandish a wand; even Voldemort looked frightened by the boy. Suddenly, Harry stepped through the cell wall, right past the bars. He stepped up until he was five feet away from the group and began to speak in a calm, yet menacing voice.

"Your fate is _death_," he hissed. "May you never return. May you regret your lives for all of eternity."

~~~

Don't ask about that rhyme thing. It was just something that popped up into my head. I wanted to make it, like, a different language or something, but then it wouldn't have rhymed. I kinda' like it, even if it is really cheesy. *grin* So leave reviews, you know how much I love them!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

~~~

"It's been over a month," Hermione sighed one Saturday in the Great Hall. Most of the students were in Hogsmeade, but Hermione, Ginny, and the twins stayed. They were playing chess in the Hall, the girls against the boys.

"Professor Snape and Katie have been so upset," Ginny added. "I've never seen Professor Snape so upset before. And all this stress can't be good for Katie and the baby."

"Sirius and Remus are looking terrible," Hermione continued. "And with the full moon just passing... Remus, Sean, and Kayla are bound to be more upset than usual."

Suddenly, the main door to the Great Hall opened, and everyone in the room glanced to see who was coming in. Hermione screamed and covered her mouth with her hands, tears streaming from her eyes. Everyone else just stared.

Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter entered the Hall looking pale, thin, and sick. Draco wore only a pair of trousers, and his ribs jutted out beneath his bruised skin. Harry wore robes that were not his, and that seemed to be swallowing him. They were both weak, but they still assisted each other in staying on their feet. Harry was considerably weaker than Draco, and as soon as they got inside, Harry collapsed in a heap on the floor. Draco soon followed suit, and both boys lay unconscious. 

Fred and George rushed over to them, as did Professor Flitwick, who was also in the room. Hermione ran as fast as she could to the Snapes' dungeons, knowing that Severus, Katie, and the Lupin-Blacks were all in there. Katie had given Hermione the password, just in case there was an emergency, and the girl spoke it and ran into the living room. The adults were talking softly, while Sean played with a toy car, and Kayla took a nap on the floor.

"Hermione?" Katie said, seeing the girl's tearstained face. The older witch rushed to Hermione, taking the younger girl's trembling hands in her own. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Th-they're back," Hermione barely whispered, glancing at each of the adults. "They're back... Harry and Draco... They came into the Great Hall together, and they collapsed, and Merlin, they look terrible!" She burst into tears again. "They had to help each other walk, and they looked so _sick_! Draco didn't have a shirt on, and he was so thin, I could see his ribs, and they were beaten up, and--"

"Hermione, calm down," Remus said, gently hugging her. He also had tears in his eyes, as did the others. "Was there a teacher in the Great Hall when they came in?" Hermione nodded, wiping her eyes.

"Professor Flitwick," she said. "I think he was going to levitate them up to the hospital wing."

~~~

It was nearly three hours before Madam Pomfrey would allow Harry and Draco to be seen. She'd kept the curtains drawn around their beds as she attempted to heal them as best she could. When she emerged from behind the curtains, her face was pale, and she was shaking slightly. Remus, Sirius, Severus, and Katie stood up from their chairs. Hermione, Ginny, and the twins had stayed downstairs with Sean and Kayla.

"Poppy?" Remus said, softly. He held Sirius's hand tightly in his own. Madam Pomfrey took a deep breath, then began to relay what she had discovered of the boys' injuries.

"Both boys have been starved; I expect they've lost at least thirty pounds," she said, quietly. "Draco has several broken and fractured bones, and he's been stabbed numerous times. He's received the Cruciatus, as well as other curses, many times. He's in a coma now, but I think he may wake up within a few days." Nobody spoke for a moment. Katie buried her face in Severus's chest, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"And Harry?" Sirius said after a pause. The matron sighed, hanging her head.

"He's worse off," she replied. Sirius clutched Remus's arm at these words. "Probably because he can't handle pain as well as Draco… The injuries are nearly the same, but they've affected each boy differently. Harry is deeper in a coma, because his magical energy has been drained. I don't know what has caused this, but he will be unconscious until all of his energy has been gained back."

"Will they—" Remus swallowed the lump in his throat. "Will they be all right, Poppy? Will they recover?"

"It's too soon to tell. We can only wait until they wake up."

~~~

_Everything was black. He felt a tightening in his chest and gasped for air. It felt like someone was strangling him, blocking off his airway. Soon he tasted a bitter liquid, and it burned his throat as he was forced to swallow. Within moments, the pain in his chest subsided._

He heard people speaking around him. But why couldn't he see them? All he could see was darkness. He relaxed and decided to listen to the voices.

"Draco, sweetie, it's Mum," said a familiar, female voice. "We've all been so worried about you, honey. We tried so hard to find you. I'm so sorry, Draco, we should have tried harder…" The woman broke down in tears, and then he heard another voice. This one was deep and smooth.

"Shh, Kate," the voice said, softly. "Don't get too worked up. Draco, how about you wake up for your mum and me? It would really be a relief to see your eyes. Wake up and let us know you're all right."

The boy began to panic. There was something about these people who were talking. They loved him once, didn't they? But something in his mind was telling him that things had changed. 

~~~


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

~~~

"Dad, why are Harry and Draco sleeping so long?" Kayla asked as she, Sean, and their fathers sat in the infirmary with the two comatose boys a week later. Kayla sat in Sirius's lap, and Remus and Sean sat in two other chairs.

"They're sick, Kay," Sirius replied, patiently, though they'd had this same discussion several times before. "And they're really tired. They'll wake up when they're ready."

"Peachy always makes Harry feel better when he's sick," Kayla commented. She looked up at Sirius. "Can we bring her in here later? She'll make him feel better, and he can wake up." Sirius sighed and kissed the top of Kayla's head.

"We can try, sweetheart, but I don't think it will work."

"It's almost lunchtime," Remus observed, looking at his watch. "Kay, Sean, are you hungry?" The two kids nodded. "All right. Grab your coloring books, and we'll take them back to our rooms before going to lunch. Wait for me by the door." 

Kayla and Sean ran off (after Kayla kissed Draco and Harry's foreheads, of course), and Remus stood behind Sirius, gently squeezing his shoulders. Sirius reached a hand up to rest on one of Remus's, but he didn't take his eyes off of Harry. Remus leaned over to kiss Sirius's temple, then wrapped his arms around his husband and spoke quietly in his ear.

"Do you want anything, darling?" Remus asked, softly. Sirius shook his head.

"No, thank you," he replied, his voice quiet. "I'll get something later." Remus nodded and gave Sirius a tiny kiss on his lips, then left the room with the kids. Sirius reached over to grab Harry's hand and continued to watch the boy 'sleep.'

~~~

__

Why's it so dark? Harry sighed in his mind when he couldn't see anything. Oh, right. It's been like this for a while.

He didn't like the voices he was hearing during the times when his mind was actually alert. They sounded too upset. But if they were upset, they would have helped him, right? If they loved him, if they cared...

There was only one voice he liked. The little girl's. Her voice was so familiar, and he was sure that he knew her and loved her. He could trust her; she wouldn't hurt him.

But the others... They didn't care. What did they say before? It had been over a month_ that he and Draco were missing, and nobody came to save them?_

If they'd cared about him and Draco, they would have come.

~~~

When Remus came into the infirmary a couple of days later, the sights and sounds that he was met with shocked him.

Katie stood next to Draco's bed, crying and staring helplessly at the boy. Draco was curled up on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest. He was obviously in a lot of pain, but he didn't seem to care as he screamed at Katie. Anger, and fear, flashed in his eyes.

"Don't touch me!" Draco cried. "Don't touch me, you don't care! I kept telling Harry, over and over, that someone would come for us! _Every time_ he started to lose it, _every time_ he started to give up, _I told him_ someone would come, but _nobody came! _Go away, don't touch me! I hate you!"

He buried his face in his arms, no longer screaming but still shuddering with each sob. Remus stepped over to Katie and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, speaking quietly.

"Where's Poppy?" he asked.

"She's taking a break," Katie sighed, wiping her eyes. "She's not supposed to be back for another hour or so, and we weren't expecting him to wake up like this, so..." Her words trailed to an end. Remus cast a Sleeping Charm on Draco, then carefully moved him into a more comfortable position.

"Come," he said to Katie. "I'll take you to see Severus. These two will be fine for a short while."

He gently took her by her elbow and led her down to the Potions classroom. Severus was seated at his desk, while his fifth year Slytherin/Gryffindor class worked at their own desks. Remus stepped into the doorway and cleared his throat, to get Severus's attention. Severus quickly strode out of the room and, upon seeing his wife, enveloped her in his arms.

"Did something happen, Kate?" She merely nodded, and Severus looked at Remus. "My class is only writing essays. Do you think you could--"

"Of course," Remus cut him off. He went into the classroom. "Class, due to an emergency, I will be taking over the rest of this hour for Professor Snape." Most students ignored him, but after hearing the word 'emergency,' Hermione went up to the desk, where Remus now sat.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him, quietly. Remus summoned an extra chair to come next to his own, and he motioned for Hermione to sit down.

"Draco woke up," he told her, softly. "His reaction to Katie wasn't good, to say the least."

"What happened?" Hermione wondered, her eyes growing wide.

"Screamed and cried," Remus sighed. "He was angry because he'd kept telling Harry that someone would come for them, and he thought that we didn't care because nobody got them out."

"But--" Hermione stuttered. "But nobody could find them! Nobody knew where they were!"

"Draco doesn't know that," Remus reasoned. "He has no idea what we were doing while he and Harry were gone, and I don't think it would be a good idea to tell him for a while yet. Not too much at once, at least." The two were silent for a moment, and then Hermione spoke again.

"How is Harry? I haven't been able to visit him since two nights ago."

"No change," Remus murmured. Hermione sighed.

"Well, at least he's not getting worse," she commented. Remus nodded his agreement.

"He lost all of his magical energy, and that's a lot. It will take a long time to gain it back. Whether or not he'll recover… We won't know until he wakes up."

All of a sudden, a note materialized on the desk. Remus picked it up and tried to decipher Severus's scribbly handwriting.

__

Remus,

No more classes after Slytherin-Gryffindor. Kate asked if you can take over her DADA. Only one: 7th year Gryffindor-Ravenclaw, 10:30. If you can't, cancel it.

Draco is awake, calmed down considerably. Still angry, mostly upset about Harry.

Thank you.

Severus

"This is going to be hard," Remus sighed, and he glanced at Hermione. "Everyone is going to need all the support they can get." Hermione nodded.

"I'll do anything I can to help."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

~~~

"Hi, Draco," Kayla greeted the blond boy as she and Remus came into the hospital wing. Kayla had brought Peachy, who she placed on Harry's bed. Then she gave Draco a hug, and he let her, as she was one of the few people whom he would trust not to hurt him or Harry. The adults had been explaining to him, a little bit at a time, what had gone on while Draco and Harry were away, but Draco had not yet come to trust them fully again, and he had not yet told them anything of his and Harry's experiences.

"Hi, Kayla," Draco said, sitting up a little on his bed. He'd taken to moving more slowly since he'd awoken from his coma. The smallest, quickest of movements usually caused the most pain. "Remus."

"Hello," Remus said, nodding at Draco. He wasn't quite sure how to act around the boy because one minute, Draco would be calm, and then the next, he would lash out at somebody. "How are you doing, Draco?"

"Alive. Awake." Draco glanced at Harry, who lay still on his bed. "He was moving his hands a little earlier." He looked at Kayla. "Maybe if you put Peachy under his hand, he'll pet her." Kayla's eyes brightened, and she lifted Harry's hand, putting the cat under it. After a few seconds, Harry's fingers unconsciously grazed across Peachy's fur.

"Daddy! Did you see?" Kayla shrieked, excitedly, tugging on Remus's robes. Remus chuckled a little. "Is he going to wake up now, Daddy?"

"We'll just have to see, sweetie," Remus replied, lowering himself to a chair. Kayla climbed into his lap, laying her head on his shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want to go home and stay with Dad and Sean? There's not much for you to do here."

"But Daddy," Kayla whined. "What if Harry wakes up? He likes seeing me after he wakes up!"

"I know he does, Kay." Remus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I just don't want you to get bored." _And I doubt he'll wake up while we're here,_ he thought. _Especially if he hears her complaining about not having anything to do._

"I won't get bored. Can I have my coloring book?" Remus removed a shrunken book and box of crayons from his robes, and he returned them to their normal size before giving them to Kayla. "Draco? Want to color with me?"

"Not now, Kayla, maybe later," Draco mumbled, laying back down on his bed and closing his eyes. 

Kayla sat down on the floor and began to color a picture. Remus moved his chair closer to the bed and conjured up a book to read. Peachy rested on the bed, next to Harry's hand. 

Madam Pomfrey soon came in to check on the boys. She went over to Draco, who lay still on his bed, though not quite asleep.

"Do you want anything for the pain?" Madam Pomfrey asked, softly, as she checked Draco's vitals. The blond boy shook his head, sleepily. 

Suddenly, they heard a quiet moan. Everyone's heads snapped up to look at Harry, and Draco bolted upright in his bed, ignoring the pain. Harry lay motionless on his bed, except that he was turning his head a little and flexing his fingers. His eyes were open, also, but they had an empty look to them. Madam Pomfrey hurried over to the raven-haired boy and quickly checked his vitals, all the while asking him questions.

"Dear, can you hear me?" she asked. Harry nodded his head. "Can you tell me your name?" Harry opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

__

Harry Potter, he told himself. _I know my name. Why can't I say it?_

"Oh, my¼" Madam Pomfrey's face showed an expression of surprise, and she hurried to ask more 'yes or no' questions. "Are you in a lot of pain?" Harry nodded. "Can you move your arms and legs?" He experimented a little, and they found that he could move his left arm and his left leg, but not his right. "Mmm-hmm¼ All right, do you know who you are?" Harry nodded. "Good¼ Harry, I'm going to give you a potion for your pain, all right? It may make you a little drowsy." She poured a few drops of liquid into Harry's mouth. 

"Poppy, what's going on?" Remus wondered, curiously. The matron made sure that Harry was comfortable, and she made Draco lay back down (against his will, he immediately fell asleep). Then she went over to where Remus sat with Kayla in his lap.

"Remus, I believe that you, Sirius, Albus, Severus, and I must discuss this together." Remus nodded.

~~~

Half an hour later, Madam Pomfrey, Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, and Severus all sat in the headmaster's office, to discuss Harry's condition. Sean and Kayla were downstairs in the dungeons, with Katie.

"When Harry awoke this afternoon, he was unable to speak," Madam Pomfrey explained to everyone. "He was in a lot of pain, of course. I asked him some questions and found that he couldn't move his right arm and leg." Sirius's eyes widened, and he subconsciously clutched Remus's hand tightly.

"But he wasn't disoriented?" Severus asked. "He seemed like he knew what was going on?"

"Yes." Madam Pomfrey and Severus shared a look of understanding.

"What is it?" Remus asked, worriedly. The matron looked at him and Sirius.

"Harry has had a magical stroke. That happens when a wizard is completely drained of their magical energy, though why he was drained, we still don't know. I expect that it has something to do with how he and Draco escaped.

"A magical stroke is, in some aspects, the same as a physical stroke in the Muggle world. Some of the brain cells die, and this can cause loss of movement in various parts of the body; in Harry's case, his arm and leg. It can also cause speech loss, meaning that the victim of the stroke must learn to speak again. This isn't the case with Harry. No, he can't speak right now, but I think it is more of a problem with his vocal chords than anything else. When he tried to speak, no sound came from his mouth.

"Unlike a physical stroke, magical strokes are usually cured quickly. Within a few weeks, or even days, he should regain the use of his arm and leg. With his voice, I won't know until I test him more thoroughly. Aside from that, he is extremely fatigued and weak. Because of the stroke, he may not be able to do some magic until his energy has been fully regained."

"But he'll be all right?" Sirius asked, hopefully. The nurse nodded.

"Physically, at least. Mentally¼ We'll know, in time."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

~~~

Once Draco was well enough to get out of bed, he made his way over to Harry and sat next to him, holding his hand tightly. Harry was slowly regaining the movement in his right arm and leg, but he still was unable to talk. So instead of saying anything, he greeted his boyfriend with a tiny smile; a smile which did not meet his eyes. Draco managed a weak smile back, and he leaned down to kiss Harry's forehead.

"I love you, you know," Draco whispered. "You saved my life, Harry. I don't know exactly what you did, or how you did it, but he's gone. He's gone forever; I know it." A tear ran down his cheek. "I was so scared when you wouldn't wake up... I thought you were going to leave me. Harry, I'm so sorry; I kept telling you someone would come, and nobody ever came..." More tears spilled from his eyes. "I love you so much. I wouldn't have been able to live if you were gone. I love you..."

Suddenly, Harry rested his hand on his chest, then placed it on Draco's chest, all the while staring into Draco's eyes. Harry's eyes were no longer empty; instead, they were filled with love. Draco nodded as he understood Harry's message and returned the gesture. '_My heart is your heart._'

After a little while, Severus and Sirius came into the infirmary and found the two boys lying on Harry's bed. Draco's chin rested on Harry's shoulder, and he was whispering in the other boy's ear. Harry had an arm draped over Draco's waist. Both looked up when their fathers came in.

"Boys, Madam Pomfrey said that you may both be released within the next week or so," Severus told them. "However, you don't have to attend classes for the rest of the year, unless you want to. If you don't, then you can get caught up by next year." 

"Then there's the question of where you want to stay," Sirius continued. "Draco, we assume that you aren't comfortable staying with your mum and dad yet." Draco nodded, showing him that he was correct. "And Harry, you don't want to stay in Gryffindor Tower. What about at home?" Harry shook his head. "While the two of you were...gone...Albus set up some rooms for me, Remus, and the kids. We'll have to go home soon, or else we'll lose the house, since we haven't been living there for a while. You two will be allowed to live in those rooms for as long as you need to."

"We've put wards around them, so that we'll know if anything goes wrong in there," Severus added. "People will only be allowed in with your permission, unless there's an emergency, in which case we'll have a password that we can use to get in. You don't have to come to the Great Hall for meals; Dobby the house elf has been instructed to bring whatever you need to your rooms. Just call for him, and he'll help you."

"Is all of this all right with both of you?" Sirius asked, softly. "If there's anything you want changed about the plans, anything you need, we'll see that it's done." 

"It's fine," Draco said, quietly. Harry nodded his agreement. "Thank you." Sirius and Severus seemed surprised by the blond boy's words, but they hid it.

"Are you up to having any visitors yet?" Severus inquired. "Some of your friends have been pestering everyone to let them in here." Both boys shook their heads. "All right, then. I'll tell them that you need more time. Anything to eat?"

"Just a little," Draco requested, and once again, Harry agreed. 

The men left the room, and soon, two plates of food appeared on a tray in the boys' laps. The boys began to eat, small bites at a time. Once they finished, Harry laid his head on Draco's shoulder, and Draco wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.

"All right, so you can't talk," Draco said, softly. "Do you think you can speak telepathically?" Harry shook his head, closing his eyes. "You're too weak." Harry nodded. "How about writing? Do you have enough movement in your arm so that you can write?" 

Harry flexed his fingers, then moved his arm a little before wincing in pain and dropping the limb back to his lap.

"I guess not¼" Draco kissed Harry's forehead. "I suppose we'll just have to wait, then. You should be able to talk again in a couple of weeks or something¼ What about classes? They said we can go back, if we want to. I kind of want to, but people will be asking a lot of questions and staring and stuff. Do you want to? Because if you do, I will." Harry nodded. "All right. But we don't have all of our classes together. If we ask, they might make it so we can go to the same classes."

Harry cuddled up to Draco's side and covered the blonde's mouth with his hand, to stop him from talking. Draco smirked a little and lay back down. Harry nestled his face in Draco's neck, giving a content sigh, and both boys soon fell asleep.

~~~

"Hi, Harry! Hi, Draco!" Kayla greeted the boys as she and Sean ran into the infirmary a couple of days later. Remus followed at a slower pace, as did Sirius, in his Animagus form.

"Hey," Draco said, turning over onto his side on his bed. He gave a slight wave, then closed his eyes again and pulled his blankets over himself. 

Sirius padded over to Harry's bed and sat down on the floor, resting his furry head on the mattress, next to Harry's hand. Harry scratched Sirius's head, looking curiously up at Remus.

"He's not feeling very well, and he prefers not to show it," Remus chuckled. "He thinks that, by being in his Animagus form, he won't show how miserable he's feeling." Sirius growled slightly at his husband, then lowered his head back to the mattress and whined quietly.

"Well, I can see that Draco's tired," Remus continued. "How are you feeling, Harry?" The boy waved his hand in a 'so-so' motion. "More energy?" Harry held his fingers about an inch apart. "A little bit, eh? Well, that's better than nothing."

Harry then saw a copy of The Daily Prophet rolled up in Remus's hand. The boy pointed at it, then at himself. Remus looked at the paper, skeptically.

"I don't know, Harry. You might not want to read-" He was cut off by a glare from his son. "Fine, fine. Here."

Harry opened the paper to find a headline reading '**Death Eaters, You-Know-Who Murdered**.' Sighing, Harry folded the paper back up and tossed it aside.

"The Aurors discovered about thirty bodies in the dungeons of the manor," Remus explained, softly. "The Ministry doesn't know that you and Draco were there. They're testing the blood that they find, to figure out who all was there and see if they can discover what happened."

"Harry, I colored you a picture," Kayla said, holding a scribbly piece of paper out to her brother. Harry smiled his thanks and placed the picture on his bedside table. "I colored Draco a picture, too, but I'll give it to him when he wakes up."

"Hey, there's an owl at the window!" Sean exclaimed. He opened the window to let the owl in, then took the two letters it had. "They're for Harry." He handed the two rolled up pieces of parchment to Harry, who opened the first one and began to read.

__

Dear Harry,

I'm so glad to hear that you and Draco have returned. Arthur and I haven't been told exactly what happened yet; only that you're back at Hogwarts and safe. I hope you are both doing well, and if you ever need anything, you know that you can talk to us. Take care, dear. Percy, Charlie, and Bill send their well-wishes, too.

Love,

Mrs. Weasley

Harry smiled a little after that, and then opened the second letter. He frowned immediately, and his eyes flashed with anger.

__

Harry,

I know you probably don't want to hear from me; especially now. I've been a complete prat and treated you like shite ever since you and Malfoy got together. I was just shocked and upset, and after I started being mean to you about it, I couldn't seem to stop. I have to admit, I was a little disgusted, but that was no excuse for how I treated you. I don't deserve your forgiveness, and 'I'm sorry' isn't enough. But I am sorry.

I was terrified when Dumbledore told us you'd been kidnapped, and it made me regret everything I'd said and done to you. I'm so sorry, Harry.

I hope you're doing all right. I understand if you don't forgive me, or if you never want to speak to me again. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry.

From,

Ron

Glaring across the room, Harry crumbled the letter up and threw it on the floor. He then lay down on his bed, turning onto his side and facing away from Remus and the kids. Sirius nuzzled Harry's cheek, whining, but Harry just shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Perhaps we should leave Harry alone for a little while," Remus said, softly. "Sean, Kay, come on. You, too, Padfoot."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

~~~

A week later, Harry awoke in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. He was breathing hard and shaking. He climbed off of the couch in the living room of his and Draco's quarters; he'd fallen asleep there hours before. He made his way into the bedroom, where Draco was sleeping in the large bed. 

Crossing the room, Harry made his way to the bed and climbed under the blankets. He snuggled up to Draco's back, wrapping his shaky arms around him. Draco instinctively turned over and held Harry close, resting his cheek on top of the other boy's head. Feeling Harry's trembling, Draco's eyes snapped open.

"Honey, what's the matter?" Draco whispered, reaching a hand up to wipe the sweat from Harry's face. "Are you all right?" Harry shook his head, nestling his face in Draco's neck. "Did you have a nightmare?" Harry nodded. "It's all right, love. We're safe now; nothing is going to happen to us. Go back to sleep; we have classes in the morning. Don't worry, everything will be fine."

~~~

The next morning, Draco and Harry were starting their classes again. They had been working on catching up on the month of missed lessons for the past week and a half, and they had decided to return. The teachers decided that it would be all right for them to go to the same classes for the rest of the term. 

The first class of the day was Divination. Trelawney had been replaced halfway through the year, and the new teacher was a man by the name of Steve Donovan. He was about as mean as Snape had been before he'd married Katie, and Harry and Draco weren't looking forward to this class at all. They hoped that Donovan would be nicer to them, considering the events of the past two months.

"Potter, Snape, how nice of you to finally join us," Donovan sneered as the boys cautiously entered the classroom. "You're late. Detention, both of you." The entire class gasped in surprise. Draco glared at the man, while Harry didn't react.

"I believe, _Professor_, that you have been told that Harry and I are not to be punished for being late," Draco said, coolly. "So if you want to give us detention, take it up with Dumbledore and see what he has to say about it." He tugged gently on Harry's hand, and the two boys went to sit by themselves in a corner, ignoring the professor's glares.

The class this morning was reviewing the Tarot. Everyone got their cards out and began to do a nine-card spread for their partners. Donovan walked around the room, making comments about how completely stupid the class was when it came to divination.

"Potter!" he barked after a moment. "If you have a three-card spread including the Five of Coins, The Tower, and the Nine of Swords, what does that mean?" 

Everyone watched as Harry just stared at him, silently. He was still unable to speak, and the effects of the magical stroke were still hindering his arm movement, so he couldn't write very easily. He also hadn't gained back all of his energy, which he needed for telepathy.

"Are you going to just sit there and stare at me, or are you going to answer?" Donovan shouted. 

"For Merlin's sake, Donovan, I know for a _fact_ that you were told that Harry can't talk!" Draco snapped, standing up. "Why are you tormenting him like this?! You have no bloody idea what he-and I-went through the past two months, and all we want to do now is get back to normal. But it's people like _you_ who won't let us! Why don't you just bloody-well leave us alone?!"

"One hundred points from Slytherin for your little outburst, Snape," Donovan said in a low voice. "Sit down and get back to work." Draco glared at him and sat back down next to Harry, who reached over to take his hand.

There were no more real problems for the rest of the class, until everyone was preparing to leave. As Draco gathered his and Harry's books, Donovan approached Harry and began to speak in harsh, whispered tones. When Draco saw this, his eyes flashed with anger, and he pulled Harry away from the man.

"Leave. Him. Alone." Draco had a threatening tone to his voice, as Harry seemed extremely shaken by whatever the professor had said to him. "Rest assured, Donovan, the Headmaster _will_ be hearing about this. You might want to start packing your stuff now." Draco held Harry's hand tightly and led him out of the room, heading straight for Dumbledore's office.

"Draco, Harry, what a surprise!" Dumbledore greeted them as they entered the office. He then saw the furious expression on Draco's face and the sad look on Harry's. "Is something the matter? Please, sit."

The two boys sat in the chairs in front of the headmaster's desk, and Draco explained what had happened in Divination.

"First, he tried to give us detention for being late," Draco told the old wizard. "I told him to take it up with you and see what you have to say about it." Dumbledore smiled a little at this. "Then he asked Harry some stupid question and yelled at him for not answering, when he had been informed of the fact that Harry is unable to speak. So I told him off for that, and he took a hundred points from Slytherin and told me to get back to work.

"Nothing else happened until the end of class. I was picking up our books, and Donovan started whispering something to Harry. I don't know what he said, but it was sounding really harsh, and Harry looked shaky and pale after that. He still does, in fact. Anyway, I told Donovan that I'd be informing you of the incident." Dumbledore nodded, keeping his gaze on Harry who, at the moment, looked extremely weak.

"Thank you for telling me, Draco," the old man said. "I will surely deal with Donovan; his actions were uncalled for. Still, I also need to know what he said to Harry."

After a moment of silence, Harry reached onto Dumbledore's desk and picked up a piece of parchment and a quill. Wincing a little, he began to slowly write on the parchment. His handwriting was large and shaky, somewhat like that of a five year old, and he left some letters out of several words and mixed some letters up. 

Suddenly, Harry let out a cry of pain as the quill fell from his fingers, creating a scribbled line on the parchment. His arm began to tremble, and he cradled it against his chest, taking deep breaths to ease the pain. Draco immediately went to sit in the chair with him, holding him in his arms and whispering in his ear. As Draco tried to comfort his boyfriend, Dumbledore read what Harry had written.

__

Said I wrok Volmort

No kidanp no hutr

fa

It took a moment to decipher the writing, and he wondered why Harry had mixed his letters up like that, but Dumbledore could understand what he meant.

"He said you worked for Voldemort," Dumbledore said, softly. "That you weren't really kidnapped and hurt?" Harry nodded, then closed his eyes and began to concentrate, and soon the other two wizards heard Harry's voice in their heads.

__

-Said I faked it... I kidnapped Draco for Voldemort and Lucius... Said he saw it in vision...

"You shouldn't have done that," Draco murmured as Harry collapsed against him. "You're still too weak."

"Harry needs rest," Dumbledore said. "The infirmary isn't necessary; I will accompany the two of you to your quarters. I need to speak with you, Draco."

The three went to Draco and Harry's rooms, with Draco practically carrying Harry the whole way. Draco tucked Harry into their bed, then went back to the living room, where Dumbledore was waiting. He still held Harry's parchment in his hand, and he showed it to Draco. The blond boy's eyes widened when he saw how mixed up and disconnected Harry's words were.

"Why--" Draco hesitated, not knowing how to phrase his question. "Harry knows how to spell. He knows how to write. Why did he spell all this wrong and mix things up?" Dumbledore sighed.

"Do you remember when Poppy tested Harry, to find out why he couldn't speak? She thought that it may have been a problem with his vocal chords, but it turned out that it wasn't." Draco nodded. "Do you know how long they held him under the Cruciatus at one time?"

"A lot longer than they did me," Draco replied, quietly. "They used it more on him because they knew it affected him more than it did me. I think, at one point, it lasted around ten minutes, but I'm really not sure."

"I think that the reason for his being unable to speak or write properly could be brain damage. He seems to understand everything that we say to him, but I think that he has problems connecting his own thoughts. That's why he can't speak; he can't put together what he wants to say." Draco brought his hand to his mouth, chewing nervously on his fingernails.

"Can it be fixed?" Tears were welling up in his eyes.

"Considering the short extent of the damage, yes, it can be fixed. First, I'll talk to Sirius and Remus, and then I'll bring in a specialist to examine Harry. There are potions and charms to fix slight brain damage, but I want to make sure that that's what it is first." Draco nodded in understanding, and Dumbledore stood up. "Now. I will speak with Donovan; he will most-likely be gone by tomorrow morning. You should stay here with Harry."

"Thank you, sir."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Nicky: Yes, I love torturing Harry and hurting him all the time. It creates drama, and I'm a sucker for drama.

****

A. Potter: Don't worry, Harry will be just fine…Maybe. *grin*

~~~

The next day, the boys' first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Katie. She, and most of the fifth-year Gryffindors, gave Harry and Draco warm, reassuring smiles as they came in, but the Slytherins just glared at them. Draco held Harry's hand tightly, and the two went to sit in adjacent desks. Katie followed and leaned over to speak to them quietly.

"If you two need anything, or if anyone bothers you, tell me," she said, softly. "We're due to learn more about the Unforgivables today, so if you need to leave at any time, go ahead."

"Thanks, Mum," Draco said, quietly. Katie went back up to her desk, and Hermione turned around to face her friends.

"It's good to have you back," she told them with a small smile. "I've missed you." Harry smiled back slightly, and Draco nodded.

"Today, class, we're going to go more in-depth with the Unforgivables," Katie announced. "Can anyone tell me how long a person can be held under the Cruciatus before insanity sets in?" Neville raised his hand. "Neville?"

"Twelve minutes," he said, quietly. Katie nodded.

"Five points to Gryffindor."

Harry shook his head and tugged on Draco's arm. Draco watched as Harry used his left hand to write the number '16' on his parchment. The blonde gave a soft sigh and squeezed Harry's hand.

"Do you want me to say something?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Harry, Draco, do you two have something to add to our discussion?" Katie wondered. Harry nodded and looked at Draco, who closed his eyes and took a breath. He opened his eyes again and found that the entire class was looking at him.

"Harry was held under the curse for sixteen minutes," Draco said, quietly. Nearly the whole class gasped in surprise, including the Slytherins. Katie let out a sad sigh and took a moment before answering.

"Well, I suppose it would be different for everybody," she commented, finally. "Twelve minutes is the average."

~~~

The next class after Defense Against the Dark Arts was Potions. Severus assigned partners for the class, and he paired Harry and Draco together.

"Today we're going to make a generic type of Skele-Gro," Severus told the class. "It is called the Bone Regrowth Potion, and it has generally the same effect as Skele-Gro. It is easier to make, but it has worse side effects. The recipe is on page 368 of your textbooks. Ingredients are in the back of the room."

Severus glanced around the room as the students began to prepare their ingredients. His eyes stopped on his son and Harry, whose faces had turned pale. Draco said something to Harry, then stood up shakily and retrieved their ingredients. When Draco sat back down, Severus made his way back to their table.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, gently. Draco sighed and didn't look up from the roots he was slicing.

"They used this on us," he muttered, bitterly. "They thought it to be highly amusing to remove our bones and regrow them. They enjoyed seeing us in pain." 

Severus clenched his fists and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. After visibly calming himself down, he crouched down so that he was level with the two boys.

"If they weren't already dead, I would go out there and kill them myself for what they did to you both," Severus said, softly. "There _are_ more Death Eaters out there, and if I ever find out that any of them are trying to hurt you¼ They're dead. I _will_ kill them, I promise you that."

Without another word, Severus swept back up to his desk, ignoring the stares from his students. Draco whispered something to Harry, then went up to Severus.

"I need to talk to you in your office," Draco said, quietly. 

Severus nodded and went into the office with Draco, closing the door behind them. The two sat down at a table and were silent for a moment, before Draco spoke.

"Dad, I love you and Mum; you know that. And I know you're upset that I haven't told you much of what happened. But put yourself in my shoes: if you'd been held hostage for a month, beaten and tortured, and nobody came to get you out, what would you think when you escaped and were instantly expected to trust everyone again? I know, people were searching for us that whole time, but...it's still kind of unbelievable that nobody found us. It hurt to feel like nobody cared enough to rescue us.

"I know I should trust you again, but you have to give me time, you know? And I'll tell you things, eventually. I don't like to talk about what happened; Harry and I don't even talk about it. I don't like to _think_ about it, and that's really bad, considering that aside from Harry, it takes up most of my thoughts."

"I know you need time, Draco," Severus assured him. "Your mum and I are willing to give you as much time as you need. Meanwhile, we're always here for you. We _love_ you, more than anything." He eyed the tired expression in his son's eyes. "Draco, you've spent so much time worrying about Harry that I'm afraid you haven't been allowing _yourself_ time to recover. You need to focus on yourself a little more." Draco shook his head.

"I'm recovering just fine. If I didn't have Harry to worry about, then I would've killed myself by now. He and I help each other." Severus nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"You love each other very much," he observed. Draco gave him a small smile.

"Yes, we do. I'd do anything for him, and he'd do the same for me." Severus reached over to mess up Draco's hair.

"Then go help him with that potion," the older man said, smirking. "I doubt he can finish it by himself, what with only having one arm to work with."

~~~

That evening, Draco and Harry invited Fred, George, Ginny, and Hermione to dinner in their quarters. They really had missed their friends, and they were trying to get back to normal. The six of them sat around the kitchen table, but they weren't having much success with conversation. The twins told Harry and Draco about some new tricks. Ginny told them that her mother wanted them to come visit sometime during the summer. Hermione explained a Care of Magical Creatures assignment that the boys hadn't quite understood. They soon ran out of things to talk about.

Suddenly, Harry's raven, Midnight, flew into the room from the living room and perched on Harry's shoulder. Harry gave the bird a piece of food, then waved him away, but Midnight didn't move.

"Bored," the bird cawed. Harry rolled his eyes, while the twins just chuckled.

"Midnight, cage, sleep," Draco commanded. "We don't care if you're bored; in case you haven't noticed, we're trying to eat dinner." Midnight squawked at him, then flew back to his cage.

"Interesting bird," George commented, smirking. 

"I'm starting to regret giving Midnight to Harry," Draco said, just loud enough for the bird to hear and reply with another screech. "Should've gotten him a snake." Harry nodded his agreement. "Next time, love."

"So term is over in three weeks," Ginny commented. "What are you two doing for the summer?"

"I think Sirius and Remus were thinking of taking Harry, Sean, and Kayla to America for a while," Draco replied. "Mum and Dad still want to take me to Australia. Then the baby's due at the end of July. Then, of course, we have to study all summer and catch up for our O.W.L.'s, since we're not taking them until August."

After everyone finished dinner, Harry got Draco's attention and pointed at the clock. It was seven-thirty, and Harry had an appointment with the specialist that Dumbledore was bringing in.

"You want me to go with you?" Draco asked. Harry nodded. "Sorry, everybody, we have to go up to the infirmary." The two boys hugged their friends. "It was nice spending time with you guys. We've really missed you."

Everybody left the room and went their separate ways. Draco and Harry went up to the hospital wing, where Dumbledore greeted them. Sirius and Remus were also there, as well as Madam Pomfrey and a man with light-brown hair.

"This is Dr. Sayer," Dumbledore told the boys, pointing to the unfamiliar man. "He's the specialist who will be examining Harry." Draco nodded a greeting, while Harry just watched the man.

"Harry, please lay down on the bed," Dr. Sayer requested. Harry did so, and the doctor sat next to him on the bed. He took out his wand. "I'm going to put you to sleep for about five minutes, all right? You shouldn't feel any pain at all." 

Harry nodded, and with a flick of the doctor's wand, the boy was asleep. Dr. Sayer pressed the tip of his wand against Harry's forehead and murmured a few words, closing his eyes.

"Seventy-three..." the doctor muttered to himself. "Sixty-two. Does anybody know exactly how long he was under the curse?"

"Sixteen minutes," Draco said, quietly. All of the adults gasped in surprise.

"It's amazing he hasn't lost his mind," Dr. Sayer murmured. 

After a few moments, he woke Harry and put his wand away. Harry opened his eyes, sleepily, and Draco sat next to him, holding his hand and stroking his hair. Everyone looked at the doctor.

"There _is_ a small amount of brain damage," Dr. Sayer confirmed. "It's a miracle it isn't worse; that curse should have killed him. There is a certain potion that he needs to take. It's a brain restorative." He began to scribble on a piece of parchment. "Severus Snape teaches here, correct? I'm sure he'll be able to brew this potion with ease. Harry will need to take a spoonful of it every day, for one month. 

"Some side effects are headache and nausea, but it is only slight. If he has really bad side effects, or if you have any questions, contact me again. Harry should stay on bed-rest until after his first dose of the potion. He should be all right by mid-July. The ability to talk will return slowly, but it _will _return. There may be times when he still feels a little...slow to voice his thoughts, even after a month of the potion, but that is normal. Any concerns, like I said, contact me."

The doctor left, and everyone looked at Harry, who lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Draco looked at Madam Pomfrey and asked if he could stay. She said he could, as long as he didn't disturb Harry. She made sure Harry was comfortable, then went into her office. Sirius transformed and climbed up onto the foot of Harry's bed, curling up and staring at the boy. Harry crawled across the bed and lay down, curling up against Padfoot's middle.

"Are you going to stay?" Remus asked his husband, who gave a quiet bark in confirmation. "All right. I have to take the kids home." Remus scratched Sirius's head, then kissed Harry's forehead. "Good night, Harry. Sleep well. You, too, Draco." Harry waved, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

This chapter gives some insight into what happened to Harry and Draco. I'm not going into a lot of detail right now, though I _might_ in later chapters. Also, Draco flips out a little bit in this chapter.

~~~

"Harry, wake up, love," Draco murmured, waking Harry from an afternoon nap a week later. The restorative had been making the boy quite tired and giving him headaches, so Draco insisted that he rest as much as possible. 

"Mmm¼ What?" Harry mumbled, turning his head away. He was slowly gaining his speaking ability back, but he still wasn't able to say much at one time.

"We have to be in Dumbledore's office in half an hour, and you still need to get something to eat," Draco explained. Harry shook his head and sat up.

"Not hungry," he yawned. He leaned forward, resting his forehead on Draco's shoulder. "Tired¼"

"I know you're tired, honey," Draco sighed, stroking his boyfriend's hair. "But apparently, this meeting is important, so we have to go. And you need to eat." Harry shook his head again, placing his hand on his unsettled stomach.

"Don't feel good," he whispered. "Want to go to sleep¼" Draco kissed his forehead.

"I know. And you know that, normally, I'd let you go back to sleep. But we have to go to the meeting. If it turns out to be not as important as I thought, Dumbledore will probably let you lay down on his sofa while the rest of us talk. All right?"

Harry sighed and nodded, reluctantly allowing Draco to help him up. The two ate a small snack, and then they slowly made their way up to the headmaster's office, where their families were waiting, along with two unfamiliar men and Arthur Weasley.

"Draco, Harry," Dumbledore greeted them. He gestured towards the two strange men. "These men are John Sheffield and Lucas Melke; they are officials from the Ministry. And I believe you know Arthur Weasley; he was declared the new Minister of Magic. Fudge resigned yesterday." Harry's eyes widened, and he gave Arthur a small smile.

"Good to see you, Harry," Arthur told him, smiling back, though it seemed forced. 

"Professor, will this take long?" Draco wondered, facing Dumbledore. "Harry is feeling ill." The old man nodded in understanding.

"We'll try to be as quick as possible," he promised. "Now, would everyone sit down, please?" 

Everyone sat around the living room of the office. Harry sat between his fathers, leaning tiredly against Sirius. (Kayla and Sean were asleep in the next room.) Draco sat close to his parents. 

"I know that you two are still recovering," Arthur said, gently, to the boys. "And I would not have come for this, had it not been absolutely necessary." He took a breath. "We need to know what happened during the month that you were gone."

Harry blanched at his words, and he clutched Remus's hand in his own, while burying his face in Sirius's chest. Draco just sighed, closing his eyes, while Severus rested a hand on his shoulder. After a moment, Draco spoke.

"Harry won't talk about it," he said, quietly. "He's worried about mixing up his words and looking stupid in front of everyone, but he doesn't want to talk about it, anyway. And neither do I."

"Draco, you must," Dumbledore said, softly. "Sooner or later, you will have to talk about it, and the longer you wait, the harder it will be."

"I won't talk about it," Draco refused, firmly, as he folded his arms across his chest. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but he held them back. "I won't." Suddenly, a small voice was heard from the sofa, and everyone snapped their heads towards Harry.

"Malfoy Manor," he whispered in a halting voice. He concentrated hard to make his words come out right. "Dea-Death Eaters... Thirty? Forty? Beat us. Tortured us. Raped us. Starved us. I kept...falling asleep...wake up...over and over... Cruciatus. Broke bones, took out bones, regrew... Woke up. Draco scream. Voldemort hurt him bad. Death Eaters too. I got mad. Said something... Killed them all... He's gone. Forever." 

With that, Harry passed out, and Sirius cradled him in his lap. He held the boy tightly, kissing his head and whispering to him, while Remus covered his face with his hands. Draco's eyes were wide, his face had turned white, and his entire body was shaking. Severus wrapped his arms around the boy in a comforting hold, and Katie squeezed his hand.

"Honey, calm down," Katie murmured, stroking Draco's hair. "It's all right, it's over."

"Damn it, no, it's not over!" Draco snapped, breaking free from Severus's hold and jumping up from the sofa. "It may be _physically_ over, but mentally, I'm reliving every single thing they did to me! Every time I close my eyes, every time I go to sleep, I feel curses hit me! I feel their hands on me, I feel them forcing themselves on me! I see them doing the same to Harry, and I can't stand it! It's _not fucking over_!" He collapsed on the floor, pulling his knees to his chest and sobbing into his arms. "And it never _will_ be..."

"That's enough for tonight," Severus said, firmly. He bent over and lifted Draco up into his arms, and Draco buried his face in his father's chest. The two and Katie left the room.

"It's been over a month since they escaped," John commented. "They need to get past it, already." Everyone in the room, save Harry, just stared at him. Sirius was the first to retort, his voice filled with disgust.

"Right, Sheffield, let's lock you in a dungeon cell and starve you, torture you, and rape you for a month, then see how long it takes _you_ to get over it. How does that sound? Go to hell. Remus, get the kids and go home. I'll take Harry to his room."

Sirius lifted Harry up and crossed the room to the door, but Arthur stopped him before he could leave. The red-haired man placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder, and he seemed to have tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," he said, softly. "If there's anything you need, any of you, Molly and I are there for you." Sirius nodded. "I really didn't want things to come out like they did tonight. I didn't expect Harry to just start talking about it like that, and then Draco..." Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "Merlin, if those people weren't already dead, I'd kill them with my bare hands."

"You and me, both."

When Sirius and Harry reached the boys' quarters, they found the Snapes in the living room. Draco was curled up between his parents on the sofa, but he looked up when he heard the door open. He crossed the room to find Harry barely awake in Sirius's arms, and he kissed his boyfriend's forehead.

"Honey, I'm going to stay with Mum and Dad tonight," Draco said, quietly. "Is that all right with you?" Harry nodded, sleepily, and Draco stroked his hair. "I'll see you tomorrow, love."

"Love you," Harry murmured. Sirius took him into the bedroom and lowered him to the bed, then sat next to him, pushing his hair from his forehead. "Dad, want to go home..."

"Are you sure?" Harry nodded. "All right, kiddo. Is it okay if we go by Floo?" 

Another nod, and after a few moments, the two were in the living room of the Lupin-Black home. Sirius carried Harry up to his bedroom and tucked him into bed. At Harry's request, Sirius lay down with him. As soon as they were comfortable, Remus poked his head into the room.

"Siri, Kayla had a nightmare, and she wants you." Sirius looked at Harry, who nodded, and he left the room. Remus took Sirius's place on the bed with Harry. "How are you feeling, kid?"

"All right," Harry mumbled, curling up against Remus. "Daddy, I thought I died. Fell asleep, heard Draco calling, but couldn't wake up..." Remus hugged him gently.

"Harry, I'm so sorry we didn't get you out of there," he whispered. "We tried so hard to find you, the Aurors tried to find you, but we couldn't, and I'm so sorry."

"But I killed him, Daddy," Harry said, yawning. "It's okay, because I killed him, and he's gone."

"That you did, and that he is," Remus replied with a slight smile. "Him and about thirty Death Eaters. And you did it single-handedly, Harry. That's amazing."

"He can't hurt anyone else."

"No. He can't hurt anyone else." Remus kissed Harry's forehead. "Go on to sleep. You need to rest. I'll wake you for breakfast in the morning."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: The aftermath of killing the Dark Lord.

~~~

Over the next two weeks--the last two weeks of the term--Draco and Harry went to classes only occasionally. Their parents didn't want them to wear themselves out, so they only went when they were bored. Everything they missed, they would make up in the summer, anyway.

The Ministry had found out exactly what happened during the month that the boys were missing. They used the Memorius Spell, so that Harry and Draco wouldn't have to talk about it. Not three days after the Ministry found out, did the media get hold of the news. Every wizard newspaper and magazine in Europe printed a story about 'how the Boy-Who-Lived defeated You-Know-Who for good.' 

That, of course, meant that Harry began to receive a lot more attention. Classmates would stare at him as he walked through the halls. Others would pat him on the back and praise him. He received hundreds of owls from complete strangers every day (after the first day, he threw out everything that was unfamiliar).

By summer break, Harry's speech had improved greatly. It was nearly back to normal. He and Draco were starting to get back to normal, as well. They'd each talked with their parents about what had happened, and it really helped. They felt safe again, and they weren't constantly looking over their shoulders. They could be separated and still feel safe. They still had nightmares and flashbacks, of course; but they were doing considerably better.

The second day of the summer holidays, the Snapes had come to the Lupin-Black house for supper. Just as they were all finishing dessert (apple pie, made by Harry), an owl flew in the window and perched on Harry's shoulder. Harry removed the letter from the owl's beak and gave it a bit of food, and it flew off again. Harry opened the letter and read it to himself. He frowned and paled a little at its contents.

"Something wrong, kiddo?" Sirius wondered, concerned. "What does it say?"

"Normality is stolen once more," Harry muttered, handing the letter to Sirius and folding his arms across his chest. Sirius began to read out loud.

"Dear Mr. Harry Potter," he read. "As a result of your amazing show of bravery and ability in your destruction of the Dark Lord, the Ministry of Magic wishes for you to attend a ceremony in your honor, where we will bestow upon you the Order of Merlin, First Class award."

"That's bloody amazing, Harry!" Sean exclaimed. "The Order of Merlin? Wow..." 

"It also goes on to say," Harry said, hotly, "that, basically, I can randomly kill someone and get away with it. I can learn to Apparate and do it without a license. I can become an Animagus and not have to register. I can do whatever the bloody hell I want, and I can get away with it. All because I'm the 'savior.' I'm the bloody Boy-Who-Killed-Voldemort, so I get all these special privileges. But they can't give me the one thing I want."

"Harry, you know you're never going to be normal," Remus sighed. "You never have been, and you never will be."

"But that doesn't stop me from wanting it." 

Harry pushed his chair out and stood up, heading up to his bedroom. Draco followed him and lay on the bed with him. Harry rested his head on Draco's chest, and Draco ran his fingers up and down Harry's arm.

"They're trying to give me all kinds of things, acting like it will make me happy," Harry murmured. "So far, I've gotten three new broomsticks, all kinds of rare potions--I gave those to Severus--rare books, twenty-six marriage proposals, and a total of 5,483 Galleons. All because I killed thirty-four people."

"Thirty-four people who _deserved_ to be killed," Draco added.

"I killed a lot of the Slytherins' parents," Harry sighed. "Did you know that? I made them orphans."

"Don't think about that, honey," Draco told him. "If it hadn't been for your killing thirty-four people, so many more other people would be dead right now. He can't kill anyone anymore, and it's all thanks to _you_. I understand that you hate all the attention and everything, but it can't be escaped. You just have to grin and bear it."

"I wonder..." Harry said, thoughtfully. "If I send a request to Mr. Weasley, I wonder if he could get everyone to tone it down, you know? Like the newspapers and stuff, tell them to print less about me and all that."

"You could try," Draco replied. "But why send a request? Aren't you going over to visit the Weasleys' tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but I assume he'll be working while I'm there," Harry said. "Now that he's the Minister and all." He changed the subject. "What am I going to do about Ron tomorrow? I don't want to see _him_." Draco chuckled.

"Grin and bear it, love," he repeated. "I'm sure Fred and George will protect you from the git."

~~~

"Harry, dear, come in!" Molly Weasley greeted him as he and Remus stood in the doorway at The Burrow. "Remus, hello. Are you staying?"

"If that's all right," Remus replied. Lowering his voice so that Harry wouldn't hear, he said, "Harry's still not very comfortable without Draco, Sirius, or me nearby." Molly nodded in understanding as they entered the living room.

"Lunch is almost ready," she said. "Harry, the kids are all outside, except for Ron. Bill and Charlie are here, too, and they've been looking forward to seeing you." Harry looked at Remus, uncertainly.

"It's all right, go on. I'll be right in here." 

Still, Harry looked extremely nervous as he folded his arms across his chest. Though he'd regained most of his speech, he was sometimes unable to voice his thoughts properly when he was nervous. Remus realized that this was what Harry was worrying about, and he lowered himself to Harry's level, taking his hands.

"Harry, listen to me," Remus said, soothingly. "Take a deep breath and calm down. It's just the Weasleys, and you know them. There's nothing to be nervous about."

"I'm going to say something stupid," Harry sighed. "And I just took my medicine an hour ago. I don't want to get sick in front of everyone."

"Everything will be all right," Remus assured him, placing a hand on either side of Harry's face. "But if you really want to, we can go home." 

Harry bit his lip and glanced out the window, seeing the red-haired Weasleys flying on their brooms. He'd brought his broomstick, shrunken so that it would fit in his pocket. Finally, after a moment, he looked at Remus and nodded.

"But if I start to feel sick, I want to go home."

"No problem. Go have fun."

Harry slowly made his way out to the backyard, and he was immediately bombarded by voices. Bill, Charlie, the twins, and Ginny were all out there, and they all started talking at the same time. Harry's palms started sweating, and he began to shiver a little as everyone crowded around him. He tried to answer their questions, but his voice stuttered a bit, and he couldn't get complete sentences out. He began to feel a little dizzy as they kept on talking.

"Everyone, shut up and back off!" 

The voices suddenly stopped, and everyone backed away as Bill pushed through. He placed a hand on Harry's arm, keeping him steady.

"All of you, go back to flying," Bill instructed his brothers and sister. "Harry doesn't need everyone crowding around him and talking all at once." Reluctantly, his siblings obeyed. Bill led Harry to a picnic table, and they sat down across from each other.

"Thanks," Harry muttered, weakly. He ran his fingers through his hair, then stopped when he noticed his hands were shaking.

"You all right?" Bill asked, gently. He conjured up a glass of water and gave it to Harry, who accepted it and began to sip at it.

"Just a little..." Harry's mind blanked, and he quickly tried to remember what word he wanted to say. "Ne-nervous. Damn it..."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Bill told him. "It's perfectly understandable that you're nervous." 

"I-I get like this when I'm nervous," Harry mumbled, trying to calm his shaking hands. "And I took...medicine earlier, it makes me sick..." He closed his eyes, taking a breath. "I think I need to lie down..."

Bill led Harry back into the house, where he lay down on the sofa. Just as he closed his eyes, Remus and Molly came out from the kitchen. Remus saw Harry and sat on the edge of the couch, placing a hand on the boy's face.

"Are you all right, kid?" Harry nodded, silently. 

"Bill, tell the kids lunch is ready," Molly requested. "Harry, dear, are you going to eat?"

"I'll try," Harry murmured. "Can I have a few minutes?"

"Of course, honey," Molly replied. "In fact, I'll bring your food out here for you."

After Molly returned to the kitchen, all of the Weasley kids (aside from Percy, who was at work) herded in after her. Everyone soon came back out to the living room, each person bearing a plate. Remus had two, and he put one on Harry's lap, while Bill helped Harry to sit up. Ginny, Ron, the twins, and Charlie sat on the floor. Bill and Molly sat in chairs, and Remus sat on the sofa with Harry.

"Arthur and Percy were hoping to see you, Harry, but they were called in to the Ministry for the day," Molly said.

"Where's Draco?" Ginny wondered. "I thought he'd be coming with you."

"Sev and Katie took him to Australia," Harry replied, feeling a little calmer. "For a week."

"They wanted to get some quality time in together before the baby's born," Remus explained. "Katie's doctor doesn't want her to do any traveling after this week. Until they return, Harry's just going to have to suffer with me, Sirius, and the kids." Harry gave a tired smile, but he didn't reply.

After lunch, Molly, Remus, and Ginny went to the kitchen, to clean up. Ron went upstairs, while Harry and the other Weasley boys stayed in the living room. Harry motioned for the twins to come closer to him, and he removed a small something from his pocket. He enlarged the something, and it became a pouch of money, which he handed to the twins. Fred and George's eyes were wide with awe as they felt the weight of the pouch.

"Consider it a donation from a..." Harry closed his eyes, mentally berating himself. "An anonymous benefactor. Yeah, those are the words I wanted."

"Bloody hell, Harry, how much is in here?" George asked, amazed.

"Five thousand," Harry replied. "People keep sending me all this stuff that I don't want or need. I want you guys to have the money for your shop." He was instantly bombarded with hugs from the twins.

"Fred, George, I think a simple 'thank you' would have sufficed," Charlie commented, grinning. 

"Harry, we'll love you forever," Fred vowed as he and his twin backed off. Harry just smiled.

"What else have you gotten, besides money?" Charlie wondered.

"Three broomsticks," Harry said. "Rare potions, rare books. I gave the potions to Severus, and I think I'll keep the books. I got twenty-six marriage proposals, all of which I disregarded. You probably know, what with your dad being the Minister and all, they want to give me the Order of Merlin, First Class."

"Are you going to accept it?" Bill inquired. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Everybody wants me to," he sighed. "I suppose I'll have to."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: What's the deal with Harry and Ron? And is Harry having family problems?

~~~

__

Dear Harry,

I miss you, honey. I hope you're doing well, and I hope your visit with the Weasleys went all right. If Ron gave you any problems, let me know.

We won't be home for another five days yet. I like Australia, but I don't like being away from you. Perhaps I should just stop worrying. Remus and Sirius are there; what could go wrong?

I watched the sun set on the beach last night, and I thought of you. It was beautiful, just like you, and I remembered the time we enchanted your bedroom ceiling to look like a sunset. It was amazing.

I'm sorry this letter is so short; we're getting ready for dinner at a Muggle restaurant. This should be interesting. Write back soon and tell me about the visit and everything.

I love you,

Draco

Dearest Draco,

I miss you, too. The visit went all right, I suppose. Except for when I got nervous, started stuttering, panicked, and nearly passed out. Ron didn't say anything to me. He wasn't even around much; just for lunch, and then he went to his room.

Speaking of the Weasleys... Since you're not here, I have to stay at The Burrow during the full moon in two days. Dad's staying at the house with Daddy, Sean, and Kayla, and he doesn't want me to be left alone.

I want to become an Animagus. If I do that, then I can spend the moons with my family and not feel, I don't know, left out, I guess. Because I do feel left out. They're all a lot closer because of the bonding or whatever during that time,even if it is a terrible thing to happen, and I just feel like I'm not a part of the family sometimes. Do you get what I mean? Anyway, I'm going to read up on it and see if I can do it. Maybe you can do it with me?

Awaiting our next sunset,

Harry

~~~

Two nights later, Harry sat on the Weasleys' sofa, curled up with a book in his lap. He scribbled on a piece of parchment as he read the text, and he didn't even notice when someone sat at the other end of the couch.

"Harry?"

He sighed when he recognized the voice. Ron. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw that the red-haired boy looked nervous and was wringing his hands. He decided to be polite.

"Yes?"

"Um... I just wanted to--" Ron hesitated. Trying to cover up his stuttering, he quickly asked, "What are you studying?"

"Animagi," Harry replied, simply. He lifted the book so that Ron could see the cover.

"You want to be one?" Harry nodded. "What do you want to be?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "But it doesn't matter. You can't choose what animal you'll be; it's determined by who you are as a person." 

"Any special reason why you've decided to become an Animagus?" Ron wondered, curiously. Harry sighed.

"I want to be able to spend the full moon with my family."

"Is the Wolfsbane still helping Remus?" Harry nodded.

"They're using it on Kayla and Sean, too, but they need to refine it a little. The side effects are pretty bad for kids."

The two were silent for a moment as Harry continued to take notes. Finally, he dropped his quill on the parchment and looked at Ron.

"There are some things we need to get straight, all right?" Ron nodded. "I will never, _ever_ forgive you for the things you've said about me and about Draco. I will never, _ever_ forgive you for the things you've done to us and the way you've treated us. I will, however, give you a chance. I'll be nice to you. I'll not ignore you or avoid you. But that doesn't mean we'll be friends. Our friendship was destroyed that day, and we both know that we'll never get it back. It will never be the same. I may try to start over, so that we _can_ be friends, but it depends on you. And mark my words: if I ever find out that you've been talking shite about Draco, Severus, anyone I care about... You will regret it, and you know full-well that I have the power to make you regret it. Is all of that clear?"

"Yeah," Ron replied, nodding his head as he stood up. "I _am_ sorry, Harry."

"I know you are," Harry said, softly. "But 'sorry' doesn't always fix things overnight. 'Sorry' isn't instant gratification."

Just then, Draco's eagle owl flew into the window and perched on the arm of the sofa, dropping a letter in Harry's lap. Harry scratched the owl's head as he read the note.

__

Harry,

I understand what you mean about the full moon thing. But before you try to become an Animagus, wait until we get home. 1. I want to become one with you, and 2. Assuming that you want to surprise your family, Dad wants to help you. He's an Animagus, but not many people know. Also, we just want to make sure nothing goes wrong. So wait for us, all right? We may be leaving early. Mum feels worse every day she comes closer to the due date, and although she doesn't feel REALLY bad, we might come home early, just in case.

All of my love,

Draco

~~~

Early the next afternoon, Sirius came to The Burrow to pick Harry up. They returned to their house, and Harry curled up on the sofa to do some homework.

"The kids and Daddy are resting," Sirius told him, yawning. "And I think I'll go take a nap, too. Will you be all right down here by yourself?"

"Mmm-hmm, go ahead," Harry assured him. As Sirius headed for the stairs, Harry spoke again. "Hey, Dad?" Sirius turned back and looked at the boy. "Are Daddy, Sean, and Kay all right? I mean, after last night¼" His words trailed to an end.

"They'll be just fine in a few hours, kiddo," Sirius replied with a reassuring smile. "Transformations take a lot out of them, and they become quite tired. But don't worry; they'll be all right." 

Harry nodded, then turned back to his homework. He made sure that Sirius was gone before taking a charm off of his textbook and notes. Before, they'd been Transfiguration notes. Now they were Animagi notes.

__

Revealus Formus, Harry read to himself. _Point your wand at yourself and say these words, and an image of your Animagus form will appear in front of you._

"_Revealus Formus_," Harry said, firmly, as he pointed his wand. Almost immediately, an image appeared in front of him. It took the form of a large black cat--a panther. Harry smiled to himself and yawned, closing his eyes.

When Harry opened his eyes again, he was being carried up a flight of stairs. He let out a sleepy sigh and laid his head against the chest of his carrier. The arms around him tightened, and he felt a light kiss on his forehead. Within seconds, he was being lowered to his bed. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly when he saw Draco sit next to him.

"Hey, love," Draco murmured, stroking Harry's hair. 

"Missed you," Harry replied, laying his head in Draco's lap. "How was Australia?"

"Great," Draco responded, touching his fingers to Harry's lips. Harry took Draco's hand in his own and kissed his fingertips. "We went to the beach, did all kinds of stuff."

"You're tan," Harry commented. 

"Yeah, well... It looks kind of weird with my hair being so light, but...whatever." Harry chuckled. "So I found you sleeping over your Animagus notes. Did you find out what you'll be?"

"Black panther."

"I did the spell yesterday," Draco told him. "My form is a dog of some sort." Harry smiled a little.

"You said Sev's an Animagus..." he mumbled. "What's his form?"

"Raven," Draco replied. "Go back to sleep, honey." Harry nodded, closing his eyes.

"Love you..." he murmured.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: A bit of anger, and some sappiness too. Enjoy, and review, please.

~~~

A week later, Harry was at Snape Manor with Draco and Severus, working on becoming an Animagus. They'd already gone over the basics, and today they would be attempting to transform.

"If you succeed in your first attempt to transform, it will only last for a moment," Severus was telling them. "At first, it will take a lot of energy, and you will feel quite tired afterwards. As you keep practicing, it becomes easier. It won't take as much energy, and you will be able to stay in your form for a longer time.

"Now, Draco, you go first. Imagine yourself turning into your form, and concentrate on that image. You'll feel yourself changing, and it will hurt a little, but the pain goes away."

Draco closed his eyes, and within a few seconds, he felt his bones and muscles stretching and changing. He looked down and saw that his hands and feet were paws. He then looked up and gave a puppy grin to Harry and Severus, who were very much taller than him. It was odd to see them in black and white, instead of color. Just then, he began to change back into a human.

"You were cute," Harry told him, smiling slightly. "You were a golden retriever kind of dog." Draco lay down on the sofa, and then it was Harry's turn. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his form...

...and nothing happened.

So he tried again. And again. And again.

Finally, he became so frustrated that he gave up and dropped to a chair. He folded his arms across his chest and bit his lip as tears sprang to his eyes.

"Would you look at that!" exclaimed Draco. "I can do something Harry Potter can't!" Harry glared at him and stormed out of the room. Severus sighed.

"Brilliant, Draco," he muttered, sarcastically. "Do you _ever_ stop to think about what you say?" 

Draco rolled his eyes and looked after Harry, who seemed to be heading for the guest bedroom. Draco followed, and he found Harry sitting on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Harry?" Draco said, softly. Harry turned away from him. "Come on, Harry. Don't be such a child. You know I was joking."

"Damn it, Draco, this means a lot to me, all right?" Harry whispered harshly as a tear streamed from his eye. "Excuse me if I don't think it's funny when you joke about it." 

"It's really _that_ important to you?"

Harry jumped up from the bed and went to the fireplace, where he Floo-ed to his house. Draco quickly followed.

"Harry! Some people just aren't meant to be Animagi. Why is it so important to you?!"

"Would _you_ like to not be a part of something that everyone else in your family is a part of? Would _you_ like to feel left out?" Harry asked, sharply, as he turned around to face Draco. He turned back and headed for the stairs.

"Why would you want to be a part of _that_?" Draco wondered. 

"Because they're my _family_, for Merlin's sake!" Harry shouted, angrily. "I love them, and if there's anything I can do to make that time better for them, then I'll do it!" He took a breath and lowered his voice a little. "Please, leave me alone. Go home. I want to be alone."

"Fine, whatever," Draco muttered. 

He left through the fireplace, and Harry continued on to the stairs. When he reached them, he found Sirius and Remus standing there. The looks on their faces revealed that they'd been listening.

"How long have you been standing there?" Harry sighed, as he rubbed his hand over his face.

"Long enough to know that you're trying to become an Animagus so that you can spend the full moons with us," Sirius replied, softly. "Harry, do you really feel left out of the family?" Harry crossed his arms over his chest and didn't reply.

"Harry, I don't think that becoming an Animagus is a good idea right now," Remus told him, gently. "Maybe you should wait until you're older; it's dangerous at your age, and you're still not up to your full strength yet." 

"Dad, Dad, and Pettigrew did it when they were younger than me," Harry replied. "But don't worry about it; I can't do it, anyway. Draco and I were working on it with Severus earlier, and I couldn't transform even a little bit. I guess Draco's right: some people just aren't meant to be Animagi."

With that said, Harry pushed past his fathers and went up to his bedroom. He lay down in his bed and closed his eyes, and he soon felt the other side of his mattress sink. Sirius spoke from beside him.

"Was it your first time trying to transform?" Harry nodded. "It doesn't always happen the first time. Try it some more--not too much, of course--and it'll probably work, eventually." Harry didn't reply. "We're sorry if you feel left out, Harry. But it can't be controlled. You know it's not safe for you every month, and there's really not much we can do about it."

"You weren't supposed to know about what I was trying to do," Harry mumbled. "It was supposed to be a surprise..." Sirius rubbed his back. 

"What would your form be?" he wondered.

"Black panther," Harry replied. He turned away from Sirius and pulled his blanket up to his shoulder.

"Harry? Are you _really_ angry with Draco?"

"He was making jokes about how I couldn't do it," Harry sniffed. "He didn't understand why it was so important to me." 

"Of course he didn't. He's not in the same situation as you. From what I saw, he was really upset, kiddo. Maybe you overreacted a little." 

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Go away. I'm tired."

"Daddy and I are here if you need to talk, kiddo," Sirius said, softly. He leaned over and kissed Harry's forehead. Then he stood and headed for the door, but Harry's voice stopped him.

"Dad?" Sirius looked back at him. "I love you."

Sirius frowned inwardly. Why had Harry just suddenly said that? Quite frankly, it worried Sirius. The last time Harry had just said those words out of the blue, he'd been quite depressed and considering suicide again.

"That was sudden, Harry," Sirius said, softly, as he sat back down on the bed. He gently touched his son's cheek. "Should I be worried?" Harry shook his head.

"No, no," he assured the older man. "It's just that…since Draco and I were gone, I realized that I haven't been telling you and Daddy that enough, and I really do love you." Sirius smiled and nodded slightly.

"We love you, too, son," he told him. He hugged the boy tightly and kissed his hair before getting up. "Do you need anything?" Harry shook his head. "All right. Sleep well."

With that, Sirius left, and Harry got out of bed. He went to his desk and began to write on a piece of parchment. He scribbled down a few words, then rolled the parchment up and gave it to Midnight, who flew out the window.

~~~

A short while later, a familiar black raven flew through a window at Snape Manor. The bird found Draco curled up on his bed, staring at a wall. A letter was dropped in front of the boy, and he began to read it.

__

I'm sorry for being so harsh. I love you.

Harry

Draco smiled slightly and patted Midnight on his head, giving him the command to go home. As the bird flew out the window once more, Draco lay down in his bed and closed his eyes, feeling a peaceful sleep overtake him.

~~~


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Nicky: You're right, that IS a logical problem…hmm…what to do, what to do… I am saying nothing. *grin*

~~~

"I believe that a certain someone has a birthday coming up," Remus commented a few nights later. He, Sirius, Harry, Sean, Kayla, Draco, Katie, and Severus all sat around the living room of Snape Manor after eating dinner. 

"Yes, Moony, I believe you're right," Sirius agreed, smirking at Harry. "I wonder who that could be?" Harry sighed good-naturedly and shook his head, leaning comfortably in Draco's arms.

"Katie and Sev's kid will have a birthday soon," he reminded them. "Not only me."

"Smart ar--" Sirius's word was cut off by Remus elbowing him in his ribs and gesturing towards Sean and Kayla. "Oops."

"Anything special you want for your birthday, honey?" Draco asked Harry, softly. The dark-haired boy cuddled closer to Draco, if that were even possible.

"Mmm, no, I don't want anything..." Harry murmured, yawning. 

"Come on, there has to be _something_ you want," Sean insisted.

"Surprise me," Harry told him, smiling. "As long as it's from any of you, I'll love it."

"Love, that was so incredibly sappy," Draco told him, smirking. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"It's the truth. I don't want or need anything, other than the people I love. I don't care if it's sappy."

Kayla took that moment to get up from the floor and climb onto the sofa, nestling herself in Harry's arms. She laid her head on Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes, letting out a quiet sigh.

"Something wrong, sweetie?" Harry wondered, stroking his sister's hair.

"Don't feel good," Kayla muttered. "My tummy hurts." Harry looked at his fathers.

"I'll take her up and lay down with her in the guest room," he told them. "I'm a little tired myself, anyway."

Harry lifted Kayla up and carried her upstairs, where he lay down with her on the guest bed. He gently rubbed her tummy until she fell asleep, and then he turned over onto his stomach, his arms folded under his head, and closed his eyes. 

After a while, he felt two hands massaging his back. He smiled slightly and turned his head to the side, finding that Draco was sitting next to him.

"Stay still," Draco requested, pressing his hands against Harry's skin. "Your back is full of knots. I'm surprised you could move at all."

"Mmm, you're so good at this..." Harry murmured, closing his eyes again. Draco smiled as he massaged the tension out of his lover's back. 

"You're so tired," Draco observed, softly. "Will you even be _able_ to go to the ceremony tomorrow?" The next day was the Ministry's ceremony for Harry, at which he will be awarded the Order of Merlin.

"Don't remind me," Harry groaned. "I'm not looking forward to that at all... But I suppose I'll be able to, if I must." Draco sighed and leaned over to place a kiss on the back of Harry's neck.

"Honey, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to. Or we could say that something came up and you're unable to go, and Sirius or Remus or someone could accept the award _for_ you."

"That's a good idea," Harry commented. "I just...don't like the idea of everyone's eyes and ears and cameras being on me, and only me. It makes me paranoid and uncomfortable. But if I'm able to go, I don't want to lie and say I can't."

"Well, then, let's just hope that you catch whatever it is that Kayla has," Draco joked. His face became serious. "But really, love, if you're uncomfortable with it, tell Sirius, Remus, Mr. Weasley--somebody. You don't _have_ to do it. They could decide to not do a ceremony and just give you the award or something. You know that if you ask them for something, they'll do it for you." 

Suddenly, Harry turned over onto his back and stared up at Draco. Harry's green eyes seemed extremely concerned.

"I'm getting all this attention," Harry said, quietly. "But people forget that I wasn't the only one there, Draco. _You_ were with me, and _you_ were the only reason I killed them when I did. I couldn't stand to see them hurting you. Now I'm getting all this attention for killing Voldemort, when really, you were the only reason it happened." He hesitated, then continued in a small voice. 

"Are you-- Are you upset by the attention I'm getting? I mean, I've noticed that when people are fussing over me, you tend to go off on your own for a while and close off, and I... I just worry about you. You went through something worse than I did, and you seem to be keeping it to yourself, and--" He was cut off by Draco's finger resting on his lips.

"I understand what you're saying, Harry," Draco told him. "I will admit that I get angry sometimes because people pretty much grovel at your feet and ignore me." Harry let out a breath when he saw that Draco didn't mean for the comment to be harsh. "It's a great thing, what you did. You killed him forever, and that's amazing. You deserve to be recognized for it. But there are times when I resent the fact that everyone's fawning over you for _killing_ the Dark Lord, while they ignore the boy who was beaten and _raped_ by the Dark Lord.

"Those feelings that I get are rare, love. I don't resent you. I'm not angry with you. If you actually _liked_ the attention and relished it, then yes, I would be quite pissed. But I know that you hate it. So if you're worried that I'm angry with _you_, then set your fears aside. I love you." Harry sighed with relief, and Draco chuckled before lying down next to his boyfriend.

"That's a relief," Harry commented, wrapping an arm around Draco's waist and laying his head on Draco's chest. "And I love you, too... I think I _will_ talk to Mr. Weasley about tomorrow. In fact, it's not too late to go over there now. Will you come with me?"

"Of course," Draco agreed.

After a short while, Draco and Harry Floo-ed to The Burrow. They politely declined Fred and George's offers of candy, and they went into the kitchen. Molly and Arthur were both in there, and they greeted the two boys warmly.

"Are you hungry, dears?" Molly wondered. "You're still awfully thin."

"No, thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Draco replied. "We just finished supper a little while ago. Harry just wanted to talk to Mr. Weasley about tomorrow's ceremony."

"Sure, Harry, is there anything you need?" Mr. Weasley asked as they all sat down at the table.

"Um, actually, there is," Harry said, nervously, as he wrung his hands. "See, the thing is, sir... I just don't like the idea of being in front of all those people yet, and I-- Well, honestly, I don't think I ever will. People watching me, taking pictures of me...it all makes me feel very uncomfortable, and I know that if I have to _speak_ in front of all these people... I just-- I know it's short notice, since the ceremony is supposed to be tomorrow, but I-I really can't do it. I can't get up in front of all those people and--"

By now, Harry was nearly shaking; he was so nervous and upset. Draco moved closer to Harry and wrapped his arms around him, stroking his hair and whispering calming words into his ear. Arthur placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and gave him a gentle smile.

"It's all right, Harry," he assured the boy. "Calm down. I understand your concerns. If I were in your place, then I'd probably feel the same way. I'll cancel the ceremony and give you the award in private, all right? It's really no problem."

"Thank you," Harry whispered before laying his head on Draco's shoulder. He closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply. Draco glanced between Molly and Arthur, who looked sad and concerned.

"I'm going to take him home," he told them, softly. He looked at Arthur. "Thank you, sir." 

~~~


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: Another fight? Uh-oh…

~~~

"So...a party?" Sirius suggested as he, Remus, Harry, Sean, and Kayla ate dinner two days later. Harry shook his head, his eyes wide.

"No, _no_ party," he protested. "Parties equal a lot of people. A lot of people equals me staying in my room all night."

"Come on, kiddo, sixteen is an important birthday," Sirius insisted. "Everybody has a party for their sixteenth birthday."

"We don't have to invite a lot of people, Harry," Remus tried to compromise. "Just us, the Snapes, the Weasleys, and Hermione. Would that be all right?"

"I suppose," Harry sighed. 

"Wouldn't it be awesome if Aunt Katie and Uncle Severus had their baby on your birthday, Harry?" Sean asked, grinning. The older boy smiled a little and nodded his agreement.

"That would be great, Sean, but what are the chances of that happening?"

"One in three hundred and sixty-five," Sirius replied, smirking. "Better than that, really. The baby _is_ due at the end of this month. Maybe you'll have to share your birthday." Harry just smiled, shaking his head, then stood up and pushed his chair in.

"I have to do some studying," he announced. "I'll be in my room, if anybody needs me."

It was half an hour since Harry had started to try to study, and he'd accomplished next to nothing. He just couldn't seem to concentrate; his thoughts kept drifting off to other topics: his birthday, Draco, Katie and Sev's baby, and anything else that just popped into his head. He was glad for a break when Draco came through his fireplace.

"Hey, darling," Harry greeted Draco. The blond boy sat next to Harry on the bed and gave him a kiss.

"Hi, love. Homework?"

"Trying," Harry sighed with a slight smile. "Can't keep my mind on it. What's up?"

"Nothing new," Draco replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Mum's in a bad mood. Dad's becoming more of a wreck as the baby gets closer. He's worried because he hasn't taken care of a baby since _I_ was a baby, and even then, that wasn't very often."

"What do they want to name it?" Harry wondered, levitating his books onto a table and curling up against Draco.

"Alexander if it's a boy," Draco said. "And Catherine if it's a girl. It's going to come soon, Mum says she can tell."

"My family seems to think the baby may be born on my birthday," Harry chuckled. 

"Speaking of your birthday, are you having a party?" Draco asked. Harry frowned and nodded.

"I didn't want one, but Dad and Daddy insisted," he murmured. "But it's just going to be us, you and your family, the Weasleys, and Hermione."

"Why didn't you want a party, honey?" Draco inquired, softly, as he pulled Harry closer.

"Too many people," Harry sighed. "I don't like a lot of people... And anyway, I've never had a birthday party before."

"Well, I'll tell you now, you're going to be having a birthday party every year for the rest of your life," Draco warned him. He changed the subject. "Have you been working any more on your Animagus?"

"Not much," Harry mumbled, wrapping an arm around Draco's waist. "Once or twice, I tried to transform, but I've been too tired. You?" Draco nodded, running his fingers up and down Harry's arm.

"I've been getting better at it. Dad thinks I'll really have it by the time school starts. He says I have to register, too." At that, Draco made a face, causing Harry to chuckle.

"Transform for me," Harry requested. "I wonder if cuddling with you in dog form is better than with Dad." Draco smirked and transformed into a golden retriever. He nuzzled Harry's neck with his nose and cuddled up to the boy. "You know what? This is good, but I think I prefer Dad when it comes to cuddling with dogs. Humans, however..." Draco took this as a hint and transformed back into a human.

"You'd take that mutt over me?" he asked, pouting. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and leaned down to kiss his neck.

"I can't do this when you're in dog form," Harry reminded him, grinning as Draco moaned at the feel of Harry's soft lips against his skin.

"No, I suppose you can't," Draco agreed, reaching his fingers up to touch Harry's hair. "In fact, there are _many_ things that we can't do when I'm in dog form." He pressed himself closer to Harry, but the dark-haired boy stopped him.

"And those are things that also can't be done with the rest of my family in the house." Draco let his fingers trail down Harry's front, raising his eyebrows.

"You know, love, there are such things as Silencing Spells and Locking Spells." He tried to make another advance, but Harry pushed him away.

"Why are you pushing this?" he asked in a small voice, his eyes widening slightly. 

"Because we haven't been together in months!" Draco sighed, frowning. He moved away from Harry and folded his arms across his chest. "Excuse me for wanting to make love to my boyfriend! Why are you so _against_ it?" Harry stared at his hands and didn't reply. Draco threw his hands up in the air, letting out an irritated groan as he stood up.

"Great. So now you're not going to talk to me? I'm getting really sick of this, Harry! I'm trying to help you, and you know I'd do anything if it meant that I was making you happy, but I can't do _anything_ if you don't talk to me! I don't know what the hell is going on in your mind, and I'm starting to get tired of trying to figure it out! So until you change your mind about letting me in, I'm just going to stay away. You know where to find me."

With that, Draco went back through the fireplace, leaving Harry to stare after him. A tear fell from his eye as he began to tremble. He couldn't move; he was frozen with shock.

"Harry!" Kayla burst into the room and jumped on the bed, but she stopped suddenly when she saw her oldest brother. "Harry, what's wrong?" 

Harry didn't reply. He just kept staring at the fireplace as more tears dripped down his face. Kayla's eyes grew wide when she realized that something was really wrong with her brother.

"_Daddy, something's wrong with Harry!!!_" she screamed. Within seconds, Remus ran into the room, stopping short when he saw Harry. "He won't say anything, Daddy!"

"Sweetie, go to your room and play with your toys for a bit," Remus instructed his daughter, who left the room. 

Remus then sat next to Harry on the bed, cautiously reaching out to touch his shoulder. The boy didn't even flinch, and Remus wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"What's the matter, Harry?" he asked, gently. He received no reply. "Come on, kid, talk to me. Tell me what happened." Still no answer, so Remus tried guessing. "Are you sick?" Nothing. "Did you have a vision?" Nothing. "Did you have a fight with Draco?"

At this, Harry collapsed in his father's arms and began to sob silently. Remus sighed and pulled Harry into his lap. He gently rubbed Harry's back as the boy shuddered with every cry.

"Merlin, Harry, I wish that for once, things would go right for you," Remus whispered.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: Remus tries to find out what happened, and Happy birthday to Harry…happy? We'll see.

~~~

Harry didn't sleep that night. Remus stayed in the room with him, meaning that _Remus_ didn't sleep, either. The next morning, he left Harry with Sirius and went to Snape Manor.

"What brings you here, Remus?" Severus wondered. He eyed the dark circles under Remus's bloodshot eyes and commented, "You look like you had a rough night."

"Stayed up with Harry all night," Remus sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "He wouldn't sleep... Where's Draco?"

"Oh, he's somewhere around here. I'm not sure exactly where. He likes to wander around the house at night, and you never can tell where he'll fall asleep." 

"Did he tell you if anything happened between him and Harry last night?" Remus wondered. Severus shook his head.

"No, but he _did_ seem a little upset when he came home. Why? Does that have something to do with Harry not sleeping?" Remus nodded.

"Apparently, they had a pretty bad fight. I heard Kayla screaming from Harry's room, and when I went up there, Harry was sitting on his bed, shaking and staring at the fireplace. He wouldn't tell me anything; wouldn't say a word at all, actually. I tried to guess what was wrong, and when I asked if he and Draco had a fight, he started crying and wouldn't stop for three hours. When I left this morning, he was crying again, but he still wouldn't talk."

"Merlin... It must have been a pretty bad fight," Severus commented, softly. Suddenly, he pointed his wand at his throat and said, "_Sonorus_." His voice instantly magnified so that it could be heard through the entire house. "Draco, come to the living room!"

After a few minutes, the blond-haired boy padded into the room, wearing only his pajamas and looking exhausted. His eyes narrowed when he saw Remus, and he turned to leave, but Severus stopped him.

"What happened with you and Harry last night?" Severus asked. Draco shrugged his shoulders, causing Severus to speak in a tone of warning. "Draco..."

"We had a fight," Draco sighed, simply. "I left. End of story."

"What did you fight about?" Draco shook his head.

"I'm not telling you that. It's between me and him. You are not involved."

"When my son won't speak or sleep, and when he cries and shakes for three hours non-stop, I become involved," Remus told him, sharply. His voice softened a little. "Draco, if you'd just talk to him, if you two talk about what happened, I'm sure it can be--"

"I've _tried_ talking to him!" Draco snapped. "I've _tried_ helping him! But I can't pick up the pieces of broken Harry Potter anymore, especially when he won't talk to me about anything! When he wants to talk, he knows where to find me. It's up to him. Until then, I'm going to try to pick up the pieces of broken Draco Snape, something I've been neglecting while I've been trying to help him. Until he wants to talk to me and tell me what in the bloody hell is going on inside that head of his, I'm gone."

With that, Draco exited the room. Severus gave Remus an apologetic look and was about to speak, but Remus held his hand up, shaking his head.

"Don't apologize for him. He's right, he _has_ been neglecting himself. The results of their fight may not be good now, but maybe they will be later." 

Severus nodded his agreement, and Remus left through the fireplace. Sirius greeted him with a kiss, and Remus wrapped his arms around his husband's waist, laying his head on Sirius's shoulder. Sirius gently rubbed his hands up and down Remus's back.

"I sent Kayla and Sean to visit Albus until suppertime," Sirius told Remus, softly. He kissed the side of his head. "Harry's upstairs in bed, but he still won't sleep. How'd it go on your end?"

"Not too good," Remus sighed, and he explained to Sirius what Draco had said. Sirius, in the end, was furious.

"So he just _abandoned_ him like that?!" he exclaimed. "What the hell is that about? Harry _needs_ him, and he just left!" He dropped down to a chair, and Remus stood behind him, massaging his shoulders to calm him down.

"Shh, darling," Remus murmured. "I have a feeling that, sooner or later, this will be good for them. It will give them both time to think and to sort their feelings out. They've never had that time, and they've needed it. It will all be fine in the end."

"I suppose you're right," Sirius muttered, "like always." He stood and gave Remus another kiss. "Go to bed for a few hours. I'll keep an eye on Harry."

After Remus went up to their bedroom, Sirius transformed into Padfoot and went upstairs to Harry's room. He jumped onto the bed and curled up next to Harry, nuzzling his cheek and whining. Harry turned over to face Padfoot and cuddled up to him, sniffling and wiping his eyes. The two stayed still for a while, and then Padfoot transformed back into Sirius, who now held Harry in a comforting embrace. Harry buried his face in Sirius's shoulder, but he still didn't speak.

"Oh, Harry, it's okay, kiddo," Sirius murmured, stroking his son's hair. "Everything will turn out fine, you'll see... Do you want to tell me what happened?" Harry shook his head. "All right. You don't have to. But if Daddy and I can do anything to help, just let us know. We'll always be here for you."

~~~

Several days later was July 31, the day of Harry's birthday party. Things weren't looking good when Remus woke Harry up that morning. Sure, he'd been sleeping lately, but he still hadn't said a word. Whether it was because he didn't want to speak, or because his brain was messed up again, nobody knew.

"Harry, the Weasleys and Hermione are here," Remus told him, softly. Harry sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes before reaching for his glasses. He gave his father a hopeful look, and Remus's eyes dropped. "No, he's not here. And Severus and Katie apologize, but they won't be able to make it today. Katie isn't feeling well, and Severus doesn't want to leave her side, just in case." Harry sighed, but he still climbed out of bed. "There's a good lad. Come down when you're ready."

Half an hour later, Harry walked downstairs and entered the living room, where he was greeted by four Lupin-Blacks, nine Weasleys, and a Granger. He glanced around at the faces, then sighed inwardly and gave everyone a small wave.

"Hello, dear, happy birthday," Molly greeted him. Harry nodded his thanks and sat on the sofa between Sirius and Remus. Sirius leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear.

"Do you think you could try talking at least a _little_ today?" Sirius asked, gently. "I know you're still upset, but it's your birthday, and you deserve to have fun." Harry shrugged his shoulders and laid his head on Remus's shoulder.

"Maybe Harry would like to open his presents," Arthur suggested. 

Remus handed Harry a gift wrapped in blue paper, but just before Harry began to open it, someone entered the room through the fireplace. Harry froze when he saw Draco standing in front of him. The blond looked slightly tense and nervous as everyone stared at him.

"We thought you weren't coming," Sirius commented, glaring at him. He was still angry about what Draco had done to Harry.

"Um... Mum and Dad had to go to St. Mungo's," Draco explained, quietly, as he averted his eyes from Harry's gaze. "Mum's having the baby, and they think something's wrong, so they didn't want me there. So I thought I'd come over here and give Harry his presents, and..." 

His words trailed to an end, leaving the room in silence. Sirius was about to speak again, but Harry held a hand up to stop him and stood, motioning for Draco to follow him into the second living room. The two boys sat on a couch, and neither spoke for a moment. Finally, Draco took a breath.

"I'm so sorry," he said, quietly. "I completely overreacted about everything. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. If you don't want to talk about anything that happened, or anything you're thinking, you don't have to. If you don't want to make love, we don't have to. I shouldn't have gotten angry about you not talking. I shouldn't have tried to push you into anything... I shouldn't have left you. I'm so sorry."

Harry stared at his hands in his lap for a moment. Then, when Draco began to rise from the sofa, Harry began to speak quietly.

"You scared me." He looked up at Draco, who stared back. Draco sat back down when he noticed how sad and vulnerable Harry looked. "That's why I wouldn't say anything. You sounded-- You were so angry. It scared me." Draco inhaled sharply at these words, and he cautiously wrapped his arms around Harry, who welcomed the embrace.

"I'm sorry I scared you," Draco whispered. "Merlin, I've always said I'd protect you, and here I was the one hurting you... I'm so sorry, Harry..."

"Don't apologize," Harry requested. "I forgive you. I know you don't want to hurt me. I know you love me, and I love you." He laid his head on Draco's chest. "I want to talk about things--everything. Soon. But not today."

"Soon," Draco agreed. "But for now, I believe we have your birthday to celebrate."


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: Some Harry/George sappiness *aww* and a new character. Also, a Hogwarts letter!

~~~

A few hours later, most of the Weasleys had left, as had Hermione. Fred, George, and Charlie were still there, and they sat in the living room with Harry and Draco, while Sean and Kayla went to bed, and Sirius and Remus cleaned up. Harry and the Weasley boys were talking enthusiastically about Quidditch, but Draco seemed to be daydreaming.

"What's the matter, darling?" Harry asked, softly, as he squeezed Draco's hand. 

"I'm just worried about Mum," Draco murmured. He reached up to grasp the snake pendant on his necklace. "Dad is supposed to make this glow when it's okay for me to come to the hospital. They've been there for _hours_..."

"Don't worry," Charlie told him. "Labor can last for several hours. Mum was in labor with me for around eighteen hours, I think. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I hope you're right," Draco sighed. "I don't want to lose another sibling..." He stood up. "Harry, love, I'm going to go lie down in your room." He gave Harry a light kiss, then went upstairs.

"We should get going," Charlie commented, standing and stretching his arms above his head. "It was good seeing you again, Harry. Happy birthday."

"Thanks," Harry said. Charlie and Fred left through the fireplace, but George hung back. He sat down with Harry.

"You're happy, aren't you, Harry?" George asked, seriously. "You're happy with Draco and your family and everything?"

"I'm not happy yet, but I'm well on my way to being there," Harry told him with a small smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Come on, Harry, you know that I love you like a brother," George said, softly. "And I look out for my brothers. I've been worrying about you, especially since that fight with Draco. If he ever hurts you again, tell me. All right? I won't tolerate anybody hurting my family." He wrapped Harry in a tight embrace.

"Thanks, George. I appreciate the fact that you care, but I don't think I'll be having any more problems with Draco."

"I hope you don't. You two are bloody soulmates." George placed a hand on either side of Harry's face and kissed his forehead. "I'm here for you if you need me. Happy birthday, mate." With that, George left, and Harry went upstairs to his room.

"Everybody gone?" Draco asked from where he was curled up on Harry's bed. Harry lay next to him, yawning as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, they're gone," he mumbled, sleepily. "Anything from your dad?" Draco sighed and shook his head.

"I hope everything's all right," he whispered as he cuddled up to Harry. 

~~~

Around 2:30 A.M., Harry was awoken by Draco bolting upright in bed. His necklace was glowing bright green, and he jumped out from under the blankets, landing on the floor and pulling on his shoes.

"I'm coming with you," Harry told Draco. 

He grabbed a piece of parchment and quickly scribbled a note to Sirius and Remus, and then the two boys went to St. Mungo's through the fireplace. They obtained Katie's room number from an old witch at the front desk, then proceeded to run down to Room 293. Severus sat in a chair next to Katie's bed, and he cradled a tiny bundle in his arms, whispering softly to it. Katie lay in the bed, half asleep and smiling at Severus. She heard the boys' footsteps and beckoned for them to come in. 

"Mum?" Draco whispered, rushing to the side of the bed. Harry hung back at the foot of it.

"Everything's fine now, Draco," Severus assured him, softly. He nodded towards the bundle. "It's a girl. We named her Catherine Marie." 

Draco reached his hand over, and his fingers barely grazed the baby's forehead. There was a bit of black hair on her head, and her slightly-open eyes were green. She let out a yawn and closed her eyes all the way, falling asleep.

"She's beautiful," Draco murmured. He kissed Catherine's forehead, then Katie's cheek. Then he gave Severus a hug. "Everything's all right, then?" Severus nodded.

"She was born at around 6:30," he explained, standing and lowering the baby into her small crib. "Things didn't seem to be going well for several hours, but she's fine now. Both of them are fine now."

"Are we allowed to stay, Dad?" Draco wondered. "Or do we have to go home?"

"Family can stay," Severus replied, sending an apologetic look to Harry. Draco stepped over to his boyfriend and gave him a hug.

"Go on home, love," he murmured. "Get some sleep, and I'll see you sometime tomorrow."

Harry nodded and gave Draco a kiss, then waved at Severus and Katie and left. When he got home, he found Sirius sitting on the sofa in the living room, reading a book. The older wizard looked up when he heard Harry come in.

"How are they?" Sirius asked. Harry lay down on the couch with his head in Sirius's lap, and Sirius stroked his hair.

"They're fine," Harry yawned. "It's a girl named Catherine. She was born around 6:30, so yes, we share a birthday... Only family was allowed to stay, so I had to come home."

"Go to bed, kiddo," Sirius ordered him. "You need some more sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow."

~~~

At breakfast the next morning, Harry received two letters from the post owls. He gave them a bit of food, then sent them on their way and opened the first letter. It had the Hogwarts seal on it. Inside the envelope were a letter and a shiny gold badge with the letter 'P' on it.

"Bloody hell, they made me a prefect!" Harry exclaimed as he read his letter. Sirius snorted.

"Wonder why," he commented, chuckling. "It was the same thing with James: the one who sneaks around the most and gets in all the trouble becomes a prefect."

"Hey, aren't the prefects' badges usually silver?" Remus wondered.

"Professor McGonagall says in her letter that I'm the only one who has a gold badge, just as a precaution while I'm at home."

"What's your other letter, Harry?" Sean wondered. Harry shrugged his shoulders and read the second note.

"George wants to know if I can meet him in Diagon Alley this afternoon," he said. "He wants to take me out for my birthday, and I can get my school supplies as well."

"Is something going on between you and George?" Sirius wondered, his eyebrows raised. "You two were looking pretty cozy last night, before he left." Harry shook his head.

"He and I have been close ever since I came out," he explained. "With the problems I was having with Ron and everything, George has been like an older brother to me. I don't know how you could even imagine me having those kinds of feelings for him! My heart is promised to Draco."

"I was just curious," Sirius said, frowning at Harry's tone.

"Sorry," Harry sighed. "Anyway, can I go? He wants me to meet him The Leaky Cauldron at 2:30."

"As long as you're back by suppertime," Remus agreed.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: More Harry/George bonding…was it really such a good idea for Harry to go to Diagon Alley?

Hey, I didn't get any reviews after posting Chapter 16! Get to reviewing, people! *grin*

~~~

A few hours later, Harry walked into The Leaky Cauldron, glancing frantically around at the crowd of people. He really wasn't used to being around so many people, and he sighed with relief when George came over to him.

"Let's get out of here," George told him when he saw the panic in Harry's eyes. Harry nodded and was grateful when George led him by the arm outside. "I'm sorry. I probably should have picked a better meeting place."

"I have to get used to it sometime," Harry admitted as the two walked along the road. "There's hundreds of people at Hogwarts. If I can't handle a crowd of fifty, how will I handle going back to school?"

"Do you want to get your school stuff first?" George wondered. Harry agreed, and they headed to Flourish & Blotts. "Ron says they're offering extra classes this year for sixth years. To help you think of what you want to do after you graduate or something?"

"Some of them," Harry confirmed. "We choose a field we're interested in, and we take classes that deal with that field. Then there are the extra advanced classes."

"What do _you_ want to do after you graduate?" 

"I don't know," Harry sighed, running his fingers along the rows of books. "I used to think I'd want to be an Auror. Fat lot of good they do, eh? Couldn't even track me and Draco down... I'm thinking I might want to teach."

"You'd be a great Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," George commented. "Even with the experience you have just _now_. Just think of what you'd be after you've finished your training."

"We'll see," Harry replied. "What about you? Are you and Fred just sticking with the joke shop, or are you going to get another job as well?" George's eyes twinkled at this. 

"Actually, I'm getting another job, too. Madam Hooch resigned as the flying instructor and the Quidditch coach. I'm taking over her position." Harry's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yep," George said, slinging an arm over Harry's shoulders. "And that means, Harry dear, that you haven't gotten rid of me yet. I'll be around you _all year long_. I can bug you. I can trick you. I can give you points and take points away. I can--"

"I get the idea," Harry interrupted, smiling. "I'm glad you'll be there, George. It'll be nice having you around. Truthfully, I would have missed you if you were gone."

"And I, you, kid," George said, softly, as Harry paid for his books. The two then went to Eeylop's Owl Emporium, so that Harry could buy some things for Hedwig.

"Last year, they never got a replacement for Donovan, in Divination," Harry commented. "Do you know who it'll be this year?"

"No idea. You're still taking that class? I took it for a year and dropped it. Hated it."

"Nah, I think I'm going to drop it as well," Harry responded. "I think I might take up some of those extra classes."

"Are you and Draco keeping that suite you had at the end of last year?" 

"I don't think so," Harry murmured. "I don't know what's going on with Sev, Katie, and the baby yet, though. Don't know if they're all staying in the dungeons. Draco might stay with them. I'm probably going back to Gryffindor Tower, but I think Dumbledore is going to keep the rooms the same for us, in case we need them in the future."

They got the rest of their shopping finished, and then they went into Florean Fortescue's for some ice cream.

"Do you still have nightmares?" George wondered, gently. Harry sighed and nodded.

"Every few nights, I wake up, screaming and crying, in the middle of the night. I'm in pain, and I can't breathe. Sometimes it's nightmares about what they did to me. Sometimes it's nightmares about what they did to Draco. Sometimes it's just normal, scary nightmares. I feel bad, because Dad or Daddy usually ends up staying with me the rest of the night, and I wake up Sean and Kayla... But I can't help it, you know? I'm not going to start taking Dreamless Sleep Potions every night. I just have to deal with it."

"I think it'll get better, given time," George told him.

They finished their ice cream and went outside. George asked Harry to wait on the porch, then went back into the shop. As Harry waited, a man suddenly ran up to him, peering at Harry's forehead.

"Blimey!" the man exclaimed. "You're Harry Potter!" He grabbed Harry's arm and turned towards the people in the street. "Oi, everyone, look! It's Harry Potter!"

Instantly, Harry was surrounded by wizards and witches, all eager to meet him. He tried to back away, but they kept pulling at him. He felt dizzy amidst the shouts and the pats on his back. He tried to calm down, to take deep breaths, but they only got caught in his throat.

"Get off of him!"

Harry suddenly saw a blur of red pushing through the sea of people, and he clung tightly to George, who was yelling at everyone to get away. The crowd cleared, and George rushed Harry over to a bench. They sat down, and Harry collapsed in his friend's arms, trembling and taking shaky breaths.

"Merlin, Harry, I'm sorry," George whispered, rubbing the younger boy's back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone..." Harry didn't speak a word. "I'm going to Apparate us to your house, all right? Don't let go of me."

Within a minute, the two found themselves in the Lupin-Black living room. Remus and Sirius were cuddling and kissing on the sofa, but they jumped apart when they heard the boys. When they saw the state Harry was in, they rushed to him, but he wouldn't let go of George.

"It's all right, Harry, you're home now," George murmured. 

He gently, but firmly, removed Harry's hands from him and made the younger boy lie down on the sofa. Remus knelt down next to Harry, smoothing his hair from his sweaty forehead. Harry's eyes seemed to be unfocused, so Remus grabbed Harry's hands in his own and looked straight into the boy's eyes.

"Harry," Remus said, softly. Harry tried to pull his hands away, but Remus kept the grip tight. "Harry, it's me, it's Daddy. Focus on me. Can you do that?" 

Harry blinked a few times, and then realization set in. He threw himself at Remus, burying his face in his chest. Remus rubbed Harry's back, whispering comforting nonsense in his ear while George explained what happened.

"I left him alone for a minute because I'd left a bag in Florean's. While I was getting my bag, I heard commotion from outside, and when I ran out, there were ten or twenty people crowding around Harry, all talking to him and touching him. He was panicking, and I pushed my way through and told everyone to leave him alone. I Apparated us here, and he hasn't said a word."

"I expect that he just can't speak when he's scared," Sirius sighed, reaching down to rest his hand on top of Harry's head. "It's happened several times. He won't talk after nightmares, either."

"Thanks for bringing him home, George," Remus said as he held Harry. "You can go on home. Harry will be fine." George nodded and leaned down to kiss the top of Harry's head.

"I'll see you later, all right?" With that, George took the Floo home.

"Harry, do you want to go upstairs and lay down?" Sirius asked, softly. "Draco's upstairs with the kids. They're doing some tests at the hospital, so he came over for a little while." 

Harry agreed and allowed Remus to carry him upstairs. Remus tucked Harry into bed, while Sirius retrieved Draco. The blond boy came into the room and lay down next to Harry, visibly worried. Sirius and Remus left the boys alone.

"You all right, love?" Draco murmured, tucking a lock of hair behind Harry's ear. Harry nodded slightly and cuddled up to Draco. "Go to sleep. I'll stay right here."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: "The Talk" and back to school.

****

Nicky: I'll try to fit Ron's reaction to George in somehow. Not sure when or how yet, but I will. I'm also toying with an idea for George's love interest…one that's been done, it's kind of strange, but sweet in a way. We'll see.

Naraelien Endiliste: Define normal. *grin* No, I'm just kidding. Compared to the other years, this one will be relatively normal, with a few surprises. *my lips are zipped* ****

~~~

For the last week of holidays, Sirius and Remus decided to take the kids to America. They also took Draco, whose parents were occupied with the new baby. The Lupin-Blacks and Draco went to New York and stayed at a Muggle hotel. They got two rooms: one for Harry and Draco, and one for the rest of the family. 

The second night of vacation, Harry and Draco stayed in while everyone else went out. They lay on their bed, just cuddling and listening to music on the television. Suddenly, Harry spoke.

"I'm ready to talk about...everything."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked, softly. Harry nodded. "All right, then. Where do you want to start?"

"Do you still have nightmares?" Harry wondered.

"Occasionally," Draco responded. "Not too many anymore, though that's probably due to the Dreamless Sleep Potions I sometimes take."

"I still have them a lot," Harry sighed. "About everything. Not just That Month. Every bad thing that's happened since the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year... I have dreams about Cedric, and the Dursleys. And when I was attacked by Pansy and them... I dream about what they did to me and to you during That Month. 

"And I dream about things that haven't even happened. One night, I had a dream about Daddy, Kayla, and Sean all being executed by the Ministry. Dad was given the Dementor's Kiss. And you... Lucius came back and killed you..."

By now, Harry had a couple of tears streaming down his cheeks. Draco wiped them away and held Harry tightly in his arms. Harry continued.

"You want to know why I've refused every time you want to make love." Draco bit his lip and nodded. "I saw what they did to you, Draco. Every detail, I remember everything. I didn't want to watch. I wanted to stop them. But I couldn't. And I feel like, if I make love to you, I might end up hurting you or doing something to remind you of them, you know? I don't want to hurt you."

"I know you don't, honey," Draco murmured, running his fingers through Harry's raven locks. "You won't do anything to remind me of them. If anything, you'll make me forget, at least for a little while. I like it when you touch me like that. It's a good feeling. It makes everything bad go away. And I know that you'll stop if I ask you to. So you don't have to worry about hurting me."

"But...if I _do_ hurt you..."

"You _won't_," Draco cut in. He changed the subject. "So what's with you and George?" Harry chuckled as he wiped his eyes.

"Do me and him _really_ look like we're 'together?'" he wondered. "Dad and Daddy asked me about that, too. I promise, Draco, I'm all yours."

"I was only teasing you, love," Draco assured him, smirking. 

Harry smiled slightly and climbed to lie down on top of Draco. He laid his head on Draco's shoulder, placing light kisses on his neck. Draco ran his hands down Harry's arms and clasped his hands with his own.

"I love you more than anything, Draco," Harry murmured, leaning his head up to look in the blond boy's eyes. "Promise me that you'll tell me to stop if you need to." 

"I promise."

Harry waved his hand toward the door, causing it to lock. He then snapped his fingers, and the lights went out.

~~~

"Welcome back for another year," Dumbledore announced after the Sorting on the first day back to Hogwarts. "I have a few announcements before we feast. First, the Forbidden Forest is just that: forbidden. No students are permitted in the forest. Second, Mr. Flich has asked me to remind you that no magic is to be used in the corridors. Any student who breaks these rules, or any others, will be punished. 

"We have three new professors this year. Replacing Madam Hooch as the flying and Quidditch instructor is Mister George Weasley. He will also be taking over as Head of Gryffindor House for Professor McGonagall.

"In addition, replacing Professor Katie Snape, who has had to resign from her position as Defense the Dark Arts professor so that she could care for her newborn daughter, is Mister Remus Lupin-Black. I'm sure many of you remember him. And as our new Divination teacher, we have Professor Alexandria Martin.

"Finally, last year was a difficult time for many of us. Some of your peers went through horrible ordeals and are still trying to recover from the aftermath. Please be kind to them. I'm sure that they appreciate your concern."

With that, the food appeared on the tables. Harry smiled slightly when he heared the gasps of surprise from the newly-sorted first years. 

__

I remember when I was in their place, he thought to himself, starting to eat as George came to the Gryffindor table and sat down with Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Hey, kids," George greeted them, smirking.

"Hi, _Professor_ Weasley," Hermione teased him. George stared at her in mock horror.

"I will _not_ have students call me that," he said, firmly. "It makes me feel old. Nah, I'm just plain old George." 

"What are you doing over here?" Harry wondered. 

"Nice to know I'm so loved," George sniffed. "Actually, I just wanted to let you know that, since you and Ron are the only ones left from the Quidditch team last year, we're going to have tryouts. I've appointed you as captain, since you've been on the team longer, so let me know when you want to hold the trials."

"All right," Harry agreed, covering his mouth as he yawned. 

"My quarters are in the corridor right by Gryffindor Tower," George continued. "Behind the portrait of Lady Guinivere. If any of you needs anything, just come and see me. That includes you, Draco, if there's something your dad can't help you with. And with that said, I'll get going. Sleep well tonight."

"Goodnight, George," Ginny said as her brother kissed the top of her head.

"Night, Gin." George headed back to the High Table, leaving the kids alone.

"So guys, what do you think?" Hermione asked. "What are the chances of a normal year?" The others stared at her for a moment, and Harry smiled slightly.

"Well, _I'm_ still going to school here, aren't I?" he joked. "How normal can things get?" He yawned again and began to rise from his seat. "Hermione, you can handle the first years alone tonight, can't you? I'm kind of tired, and I'd like to get to bed early."

"Sure, no problem," Hermione agreed. "We'll see you tomorrow, then, Harry."

"I'll walk you up," Draco told Harry. 

He stood up and took the younger boy's hand, and the two of them headed up to Gryffindor Tower. George met up with them in a hallway. He pulled Harry aside and handed him a tiny phial of liquid. Harry recognized it and gave it back to George, shaking his head.

"I don't want it," Harry said, quietly. "You know I don't like taking this stuff. I'll start relying on it, and--" He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "I don't want it."

"Keep it, just in case you change your mind," George insisted, softly. "Come on, Harry. Classes start tomorrow, and you could definitely use a good night's sleep." When Harry gave in and pocketed the phial, George smiled and said, "Good. Sleep well."

With that, Harry and Draco continued upstairs in silence. They went to the sixth-year Gryffindor boys' dorm. Harry had been offered a prefect bedroom, but he decided that he wanted to try staying with his friends for a while, and if it didn't work out, he'd just move into his and Draco's suite. 

Once in the dorm, Harry changed into his pajamas. He then climbed under the blankets on his bed and lay down, while Draco sat next to him.

"Blaise resigned as the sixth-year Slytherin prefect," Draco told Harry, pushing the raven-black hair from his forehead. "Dumbledore's going to ask me to take his place, Dad says. Since I was supposed to be the prefect last year, but I resigned because of things that were going on, they think I might change my mind."

"Will you?" Harry wondered. Draco nodded.

"I'll take his place," he confirmed. "Hopefully, things will be somewhat normal this year. I suppose I can handle it." He leaned over and kissed Harry's forehead. "Go to sleep, love. I'll see you in the morning. If you need anything, I'm staying downstairs with Dad. The password is Cat Dragon."

Draco made sure Harry was comfortable, then left the room. Harry looked at his bedside table, where he'd placed the Dreamless Sleep Potion that George had given him. He debated between taking the potion and not taking it. Finally, he closed his eyes and settled himself into bed for a dream-filled sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: Nightmares and an incident in Potions...

****

~~~

"Harry, get up!"

Harry bolted upright in his bed, shaking uncontrollably. Tears streamed from his eyes as he gasped for breath, and his throat felt scratchy. He jumped a little, startled when he felt someone's hands on his shoulders.

"Harry, you were only dreaming, calm down!" Harry recognized the voice as Seamus's. The Irish boy sat next to Harry and hugged him gently, trying to soothe him. "Ron, get your brother!"

Harry struggled in Seamus's arms, trying to break free, but it was no use. Seamus was bigger and stronger. By the time Ron returned to the dorm with George, Harry had collapsed from exhaustion. Seamus held onto the other boy, speaking quietly to him as other Gryffindors crowded around the room and the door. George rushed to Harry's side and gently pulled the younger boy into his lap.

"What happened, Harry?" George murmured, softly. "What happened in your nightmare?" 

Harry took a light, shuddery breath and picked his head up off of George's shoulder. He stared weakly into the older wizard's eyes.

"Draco," Harry whispered, his voice hoarse. 

No matter what George asked him, that was all Harry would reply. George looked around the room, his eyes resting on the crowd of Gryffindors outside the door.

"Everyone who does not belong in this dorm, go back to your own rooms," he ordered them. They all left, except for the other sixth-year boys. "One of you, explain to me _exactly_ what happened."

"We woke up when Harry started screaming," Dean explained, his face pale as he gripped Seamus's arm. "He kept telling Draco he was sorry for hurting him. He just kept screaming for five minutes; we couldn't wake him up."

"Is that what's wrong?" George asked Harry, rubbing his back. "You think you hurt Draco? It was only a nightmare, kid. Draco's fine. He's downstairs with Severus. He's fine." Harry shook his head, his eyes wide with tears. "All right, then, how about I take you downstairs to the dungeons, and you can see for yourself?" 

Harry nodded in agreement, and George helped him to stand. He wrapped Harry's cloak around him, and the two left the tower. They headed downstairs and stopped in front of the portrait guarding the dungeon suite. Harry mumbled the password, and they entered the living room. 

Draco was curled up on the sofa, reading a book, and he jumped when he heard the two come in. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the state Harry was in, and he rushed over to his boyfriend, enveloping him in his arms.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong, what happened?" Draco whispered as he led Harry over to the sofa. They sat down, and Harry nestled himself against Draco's side, crying silently into the blond's shoulder.

"He had a nightmare," George explained, softly. "His dorm mates said he was screaming that he was sorry for hurting you, and when he woke up, he thought he really _had_ hurt you. I brought him down so he could see that it was just a nightmare."

"Harry, love, it's all right," Draco whispered, cradling Harry in his arms and rubbing his back. "I'm fine. You didn't hurt me. George is right; it was only a dream." Draco looked up at George. "He's staying here tonight. You can go back to bed. I'll take care of him." 

George nodded his head. He leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed the top of Harry's head, then left the room. Draco and Harry went into Draco's bedroom and lay down in the bed. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him close, placing light kisses on his forehead and cheeks.

"I'm right here, honey," Draco murmured. "I'm not going anywhere. Go to sleep. When you wake up, I'll still be here. Remember that if you get scared."

Harry didn't go back to sleep that night.

~~~

The next morning, the sixth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins had Potions together. After breakfast, Draco, Harry, and Hermione walked into the dungeons and sat at a table together. They'd arrived a few minutes early, so the only person in there besides themselves was Severus. He came back to the trio and leaned back against another table.

"I'm going home this weekend to help your mum with Catherine," Severus told Draco. "Do you want to come, too?"

"Um...I don't think so," Draco replied, casting a worried glance towards Harry, who was visibly exhausted. "Maybe I'll visit or something, but...there are things here that need my attention." Severus nodded and returned to his desk, while Harry tried to glare at his boyfriend.

"If you want to go home, you can," Harry told him, as firmly as he could manage. "You don't have to worry about me so much."

"Well, you're definitely giving me reason to worry," Draco shot back, folding his arms across his chest. "You didn't even _try_ to go back to sleep after that nightmare last night! You won't take Dreamless Sleep Potions. You won't tell anyone about your nightmares. You won't tell anyone when there's something wrong, and you won't let anyone help you! And now you're telling me I don't have to worry so much? Bull shite, Harry. If you can't take care of yourself, then someone has to do it for you."

"I _can_ take care of myself," Harry hissed, narrowing his eyes. "I don't need anyone to treat me like a child. I'm sorry if you don't like my method of handling things, but that's just what it is: _my_ method. It works for me. I'm taking care of myself just fine, and I don't need you to baby me."

"When was the last time you got some _real_ sleep?" Draco demanded. "You have nightmares _every night_, and you never go back to sleep afterwards! Maybe if you actually _tried_ to sleep well, then I'd lay off, but you _don't_ try! Now you're telling me not to worry when I'm scared out of my mind, thinking that I'm going to lose you to things that happened months ago!"

By then, the two boys were standing, faces red as they stared at each other. The other students had come into the classroom and were watching the display in fascination, but Harry and Draco were oblivious. Suddenly, each boy felt a hand on his shoulder.

"This isn't exactly the best of places for this discussion," Severus told them in a low voice. "Perhaps you should both leave and calm down. I'll fill you in later on what you miss."

Without another word to anyone, the boys gathered their things and left the room. Harry headed up to Gryffindor Tower, and Draco seemed to follow him.

"Leave me alone," Harry muttered.

"If you won't listen to me, I'm going to talk to some people you _will_ listen to."

With that, Draco went in the opposite way from Harry, who spoke the password to the Fat Lady. He ran up to his dorm room and threw his books on the floor, pacing rapidly over the carpet. Finally, he sat down on his bed, and his eyes fell on the potion that George had given him the night before. Without another thought, he downed the potion in one swallow, then angrily threw the glass phial at the wall, watching it shatter before falling into a deep sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Nicky: Nah, I really doubt that Harry will be addicted to the potion. As for George, I haven't really made a decision about that. You'll just have to wait and see.

In this chapter: Uh-oh…

****

~~~

At dinner that evening, Harry felt a great deal less tired, but he was still very upset. He, Hermione, and Ginny sat in their regular seats (Draco hadn't come to supper), but nobody spoke. In fact, many people in the Great Hall were quiet, as news of the argument between Harry and Draco had quickly spread.

Near the end of supper, McGonagall came up behind Hermione, across from Harry. There was an expression of pity in her eyes, and that angered Harry even more, though he didn't show it.

"Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you in his office," she said, softly. "Come with me, please."

Harry sighed and followed McGonagall out of the Hall. They went upstairs until they reached the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. McGonagall spoke the name of some candy or another, and the statue stepped aside. Inside Dumbledore's office were the Headmaster, Remus, Sirius, Severus, and George, all with identical looks of concern on their faces.

"Harry, please, take a seat," Dumbledore requested. 

There was an open space next to Sirius and Remus on the sofa, but instead of sitting close to them like he normally would have, Harry sat as far away as he could in the small space. Dumbledore steepled his fingers and spoke again.

"Harry, I asked you to come up here this evening because certain concerns have been brought to our attention. Concerns about the ways you are handling yourself after what happened last term. And as we examined the evidence, we discovered that we have those same concerns. 

"You aren't eating right. You aren't sleeping enough. You've been having nightmares. You are quick to anger at times, yet at others, you are easily saddened and depressed. Sometimes you refuse to be around people, and other times, you become severely distraught if you are left alone. Sometimes you are easily scared, and others, you are fearless. It is as though you are two different people, Harry."

The whole time everyone stared at Harry, he didn't say a word. He just kept quiet and kept his gaze on his hands in his lap.

"Harry," Remus said, softly. "Have you...hurt yourself in any way? Have you tried to commit suicide, or just _thought_ of it at all?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe," he said in a short, quiet voice.

"Harry, we're considering the possibility that you may need to be put under constant supervision," Severus told him, gently. Harry snorted and gave a lifeless laugh.

"Like I'm not already," he muttered, sarcastically. "For the past few months, I've had all of you, plus Draco, watching my every move, hovering over me like I'm going to break. Perhaps if I had more time to _myself_, I'd be handling things more the way _you_ want me to."

"We were thinking more along the lines of withdrawing you from school for a while and tutoring you at home," Sirius replied. "That way, we could work at your own pace, and you wouldn't have to worry about other distractions. You really weren't given that much time over the summer to recuperate, and--"

"No," Harry cut him off, firmly. "I am _not_ leaving school." 

"It wouldn't be for long," Sirius assured him. "Not even for a whole term. But anyway, that's just one option."

"We wonder, Harry, how you will be able to participate in your extra-cirricular activities, when you are obviously exhausted," Dumbledore continued. "And we came to the conclusion that until you've recovered better, until you've slept and regained your strength, until you take care of yourself better... 

"We will not allow you to participate in any extra activities. You will attend classes. You will attend meals. You will not participate in the Dueling Club. You will not participate in the new extra field-study classes. You will not go on the school Hogsmeade trips. You will not participate in Quidditch." 

At this statement, Harry's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. He jumped up from his seat.

"You can't do that!" he protested. "I have to play Quidditch! I'm captain, and we already have to get five more players! You can't take--"

"We can, and we will, Harry," Sirius interrupted him. "Think of it as incentive to take care of yourself. The sooner you start getting yourself together, the sooner you can play Quidditch. You may not even have to miss the first match."

"You're permitted to help with trials," George added. "But aside from that, Ron will be handling your captain duties until you're able." Harry dropped back to the couch, his arms folded angrily across his chest.

"Meanwhile, we will all be keeping our eyes on you," Remus told him. "On some weekends, you and I will be going home with Dad and the kids. You will be watched at mealtimes, to make sure you're eating enough. There will be cameras, like Muggle surveillance cameras, in your room, so that we can see if you're sleeping well."

"You're still having nightmares, and you don't want to rely on Dreamless Sleep Potions because you think you'll become addicted," Dumbledore commented. "First of all, we want you to write down what goes on in your nightmares. It _will_ make you feel better, if only a little bit, to get them out. Second, Severus is going to try to develop a potion that would be less addictive. Until then, you will be required to take the regular Dreamless Sleep Potion every third night, to ensure that you get _some_ sleep."

"This is bull shite," Harry muttered, standing again. "I'm out of here."

He headed for the door, but Sirius grabbed him tightly by the upper arms, stopping him. Sirius stood and stared into Harry's wide, watery eyes.

"No, Harry, what's 'bull shite' is the fact that you don't seem to give a damn about anything anymore!" Sirius said, sharply. "You're slowly killing yourself, and you don't care--"

As Sirius's grip tightened, Harry jerked out of his grasp and slowly backed away, fear and shock written all over his face. After taking a few breaths, he stared back at Sirius and spoke in low, harsh tones.

"Don't ever touch me like that again," Harry whispered. "I am leaving now. Have fun thinking up more ways to control me."

With that, Harry left the office and ran towards Gryffindor Tower. On his way, he ran into Draco in the hallway. Harry's eyes flashed with anger.

"Are you happy now?" he asked, harshly. "They wanted to take me out of school! Then they decided I can _stay_ in school, but I can't do anything! I can go to classes and meals. I can't do the Dueling Club. I can't take the field-study classes. I can't go on the school Hogsmeade trips. _I can't play Quidditch_. They're going to watch me at meals. They're going to watch me when I'm _sleeping_. Are you fucking happy now?"

Before Draco could get a word in, Harry ran away towards the Tower. Draco watched after him, shaking his head sadly as tears sprang to his eyes.

"It's for your own good," he whispered.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Nicky: Keep in mind that Harry left the 'meeting' before it was really supposed to be over. They'll get to the root of the problem, eventually.

****

Slashybubble: Don't worry, the relatively normal will be coming soon.

****

To Others: Thanks for the reviews!

In this chapter: Father/Son sappiness…A gift…Apologies

****

~~~

Remus couldn't sleep. He kept thinking of Harry's reactions in the meeting that evening: his reaction to the decision, his reaction to Sirius...

Sirius, himself, was in shock. He couldn't believe that he'd scared and hurt Harry, after all the times that he'd vowed he wouldn't do that. Minutes after Harry stormed out of Dumbledore's office, Sirius left to go home without another word to anyone.

Now 2:30 A.M., Remus had tried everything he could think of to go to sleep, aside from potions. He could understand why Harry didn't want to take sleeping potions, as Remus didn't like to, either. Still, in extreme situations, it was necessary. But since Remus wasn't in an extreme situation, he didn't take a potion. 

Finally, he gave up and went into the living room of his suite, with the intent of going over his lesson plans again. Or reading a book. Or focusing his frustration on the destruction of furniture.

But alas, Remus did none of those things. He had just reached the living room when his keen sense of hearing picked up the faint sound of his door being opened. His heart filled with hope when Harry slowly entered the room. Neither of them said a word, but they both sat on the sofa. After a moment, Harry suddenly picked his head up and looked at Remus, tears dripping from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," he whispered. He sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I don't know what's wrong with me..." At that, he collapsed in Remus's arms, his body wracked with sobs.

"Shh, Harry, everything will be all right," Remus murmured, pulling the boy into his lap and rocking him gently. "Everything will be fine, child, I promise you."

"I-I've been trying to...take care of myself," Harry choked out. "But it's like...I try to do one thing, and something tells me to do the exact opposite... I feel like there's two different people inside me...and I can't tell which one's good, which one's right... I keep getting mad at people and yelling at them, and I don't _want_ to... I just want everything to be normal!"

"I know," Remus sighed, rubbing Harry's back. "I want everything to be normal for you, too, Harry. And it will be, eventually. We're going to figure out what's wrong with you, and we're going to fix it, all right?" 

Harry nodded, his sobs slowing until they were only sniffles and hiccups. He laid his head on Remus's shoulder, and the two didn't speak again for a few minutes. The only sound that broke the silence was Harry's tired, ragged breath. Remus held his son tightly, kissing his hair and resting his cheek on top of the boy's head.

"Harry," Remus said, softly. "Did Dad really hurt you earlier, or did he just scare you?" Harry didn't answer for a moment.

"It hurt," he mumbled finally, reaching his hands up to his upper arms, where Sirius had grabbed him. "I've got bruises." Remus sighed when Harry pushed up his sleeves and revealed the multicolored bruises on his arms. "I know he didn't mean to... I shouldn't have given him reason to be angry, and he didn't know his own strength. But he did scare me, and I reacted..."

"He feels terrible," Remus murmured, stroking Harry's raven locks. "He left soon after you did. He wouldn't say a word to anyone." Harry sighed and nestled himself against Remus's chest.

"I ran into Draco when I left," he said, quietly. "I yelled at him. I didn't mean to."

"I'm sure he knows that," Remus assured him, gently. "You can talk to him tomorrow, if you want to. For now, we should _both_ get some sleep. Do you want to stay here?"

"Can I sleep with you, Daddy?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Of course you can, child, if it will make you feel better," Remus agreed.

He lifted the boy up in his arms and carried him into the bedroom, tucking him into bed before climbing in himself. Harry curled up close to Remus, who wrapped his arms around his son. 

"Go to sleep now, and I'll be right here when you wake up," Remus murmured. "If you have a nightmare, I'll be right next to you if you need me. And in the morning, I'll make us some breakfast..."

Remus continued to whisper comforting, pointless nonsense to his son until they both fell asleep, and that night, Harry slept peacefully.

~~~

The next morning, Harry received two owls while Remus made breakfast in the kitchen. One owl carried a letter, and the other held a leather-bound book. Harry opened the letter first.

__

Dear Harry,

After what George has told me about what's going on with you, I decided you could probably use something to record your thoughts. (Don't worry, he didn't give me any details. Just said you're having a rough time lately.) So I'm sending a journal with another owl, and I'm expecting you to make good use of it.

I hope you're doing well, and I just want to let you know that if you need to vent or anything, go ahead and send me an owl. I'm going to try and visit Hogwarts soon. I can't believe my little brother's a teacher! If I come, you and I ought to stir up a little trouble for "Professor Weasley."

From,

Bill Weasley

Harry chuckled slightly and reached across the table for a piece of parchment and a quill. He scribbled a reply to Bill.

__

Dear Bill,

Thanks for the journal. I'm definitely going to use it; hopefully, it'll help me sort myself out. I don't mind you knowing details about what's going on with me. My head's pretty messed up, I haven't been sleeping well or eating right. Dumbledore, my fathers, Severus, McGonagall, and George all decided that until I start taking better care of myself, I'm not allowed to do any extra-cirricular stuff here at school. No Dueling Club, no field-study classes, and no Quidditch. I'm also going to be under constant surveillance. I'm angry about their decision, but in a way, I'm grateful, too. I don't know what the bloody hell is wrong with me. I feel like I'm losing my mind, and I think things will get better if I start letting people help me.

I'm looking forward to your possible visit, and I'll do whatever I can to help you cause a ruckus for George. (He refuses to let any students call him 'Professor Weasley.') Thanks again for the journal. I really appreciate it.

From,

Harry

Harry rolled the letter up and tied it to the first owl's foot. He gave both owls a bit of the food that Remus had placed on the table, and the owls flew out the window. Harry flipped through the journal, examining it. 

"Who'd you get that from?" Remus wondered, sitting across from Harry.

"Bill Weasley," Harry responded, nibbling at his bacon. 

"I want you to eat at least a third of what's on your plate," Remus told him, firmly. Harry sighed, shaking his head.

"I'll try," he replied. "But honestly, I haven't been _able_ to eat a lot the past few weeks. I don't know how much I can handle before getting sick."

"Trying is all I can ask for," Remus said. "If you start to feel sick, stop eating. You'll just have to work your way up."

Harry managed to finish nearly half of his breakfast before he began to feel a little nauseous. He gathered his books and headed for the door, but Remus stopped him.

"Have a good day today, Harry," he said, softly. He leaned over and kissed Harry's forehead. "I'll be in my classroom if you need anything, all right, buddy?"

"Yeah, thanks, Daddy," Harry replied. "See you later."

With that, Harry went downstairs to the Great Hall, since there were still twenty minutes left for breakfast. Harry sat with Hermione, Ginny, and surprisingly, Ron. He and Harry had been talking more, but not enough to consider them friends again.

"Ron, except for Quidditch trials, you're taking over as captain," Harry said, a tinge of bitterness in his voice.

"I know, George told me," Ron said, softly. He handed Harry two letters. "Hedwig dropped these with us, for you."

"Thanks." Harry opened the first note and frowned when he saw it was from Dumbledore.

__

Dear Harry,

I am terribly sorry about the way things worked out last night. We did not wish to upset you, but these decisions are for your own good. Hopefully, they will not have to last long. We are trying to help you, Harry, but you must cooperate also.

Albus Dumbledore

He crumbled up the parchment and snapped his fingers, and the letter disappeared. Then he opened the second letter.

__

My dearest love,

I know that you are upset with me for telling, but I've been so worried about you. I had to do something. I don't want to lose you. Still, I never thought they'd take it this far and take everything away from you.

I'm so sorry. Please don't be angry with me.

I love you.

Draco

"Whatever," Harry muttered, making this letter disappear in the same way. "Listen, guys, I'm going to head up to Transfiguration early. I'll see you."


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: Another meeting…Harry's letter to Draco…Journal entries…

****

~~~

Later that day, at lunch, Harry received another letter from Dumbledore. He sighed, shaking his head as he read it.

__

Harry,

Please come to my office as soon as you receive this note.

Dumbledore

"Dumbledore wants to see me, yet again," Harry told his friends. "I don't know how long I'll be."

"All right, we'll see you later, then, Harry," Hermione replied.

Harry picked his books up and went upstairs. He spoke the password to the gargoyle and was admitted into the room. He found both of his fathers in there, along with Sean, Kayla, and Dumbledore. Kayla ran to Harry and hugged him.

"I missed you, Harry!" she squealed. Harry lifted her up and hugged her.

"Missed you, too, darling," he replied, kissing her nose. He sat down in a chair, with his sister in his lap. 

Nobody spoke for a few minutes, so Harry smirked and decided to try to get inside their minds. He tried Dumbledore first, but was immediately blocked. Next, Harry tried Remus, who was leaning over in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees, and his hands folded in front of his face.

__

-I hope this works... I don't want to lose my son to himself. What the bloody hell is wrong with him? I wish he would let us help him...

Sighing silently, Harry focused this time on Sirius, who was glancing nervously between his eldest son and the floor.

__

-He hates me, I know it. Merlin, I hurt him. How can I ever forgive myself? How can he forgive me? He hates me, and I deserve it.

Harry frowned at this and began to speak telepathically to Sirius, who was startled at first.

__

-I don't hate you, Dad. I love you. It's just that, when you grabbed me, it really scared me. I know you didn't mean to hurt me. I forgive you.

-_Thank you, Harry. I love you, too. I'm so sorry._

Suddenly, Sean spoke up, breaking the silence.

"How come nobody's talking?" he wondered. Dumbledore took this time to tell Harry the reason he was asked to come.

"Harry, Remus came to me this morning, with some concerns about our restrictions on you," he explained. "He spoke to Sirius about it as well, and we agreed that some of what we discussed last night should be reconsidered."

"First of all," Remus said, "you will not be constantly supervised at meals or while you're sleeping. However, we _will_ be checking up on you sometimes to make sure that you're eating enough, and you will still be required to take a potion every couple of nights."

"You still will not be participating in the Dueling Club or the Hogsmeade trips," Sirius continued. "The Dueling Club, we think, may be too tiring for you yet. As for Hogsmeade, you can go only if you are accompanied by me, Daddy, Severus, or George."

"And the field-study courses," Dumbledore added. "Again, we don't want you to wear yourself out. Therefore, you will start out with only one field-study course this term. If we see fit, you may be able to take on the other extra classes, with a bit of tutoring beforehand."

"What about Quidditch?" Harry wondered. Remus sighed.

"No Quidditch," he replied, softly. "At least for a few weeks." Harry's eyes flashed with anger. "Harry, please, put yourself in our position. If you had a son who wasn't eating or sleeping properly, who was constantly exhausted, would you really like the idea of him flying a hundred feet in the air on a broomstick?"

"We're just concerned that you might have some kind of accident and hurt yourself," Sirius added. "It'll only be for a few weeks, until you get your strength up, you know? Your first match isn't until the end of November, and you hardly need practice." Harry let out a breath, nodding his head.

"I guess I can see your point," he muttered. "Fine. Is that all? I'm supposed to be in Charms right now."

"You're excused from that class today," Dumbledore told him. "I'm sure your friends will take notes for you. Right now, we want you to go to your tower and get some sleep. Someone will wake you before supper."

~~~

__

Dear Draco,

I'm not angry with you. I was at first, but I'm not anymore. The restrictions they had on me were a little severe, but then they changed them, and they explained their reasoning for everything. Still, I'm kind of upset. Not with them, because of the restrictions and stuff. I'm upset with myself, for needing the restrictions in the first place. I don't have any idea what's wrong with me or what's going on in my head, and meanwhile, I'm causing people problems. I'm getting mad and yelling when I don't mean to, and I can't stop myself.

So I've decided that I can't see you for a while. I don't want to do anything that I don't mean, or that I'll regret. I don't want to hurt you. I just need some time to sort myself out, and I think that it's something I need to do alone.

I'm not breaking up with you. I love you more than anything, but I need time away from you, from everyone. I know that you don't understand what's going on with me either, but when I figure it out for myself, I promise I'll explain it to you.

I love you.

Harry

~~~

__

September 12, 1996

Am I going insane? I think I am. My head feels so mixed up. I can't sort one thought from the others. I can't think straight, ever, and that scares me. 

One minute, I'm okay, and then the next, I scream at people, or I cry, and I just don't know what to do. Daddy and Dad try to understand and help, but what can they do? They keep an eye on me, and I eat and sleep enough. But that's not what's wrong with me.

What's wrong with me?

~~~

September 17, 1996

I had nightmares all night last night. About Voldemort killing Mum and Dad. About the Dursleys. I always thought the summer before fifth year was the first time Vernon did anything besides hit me. I had a nightmare last night that I knew was another memory. I was about eight years old, and he threw me against the bathroom wall, making me stand there with my back towards him. He ripped my pants down, and I felt the most excruciating pain in my arse. Even after I woke up, I felt the pain, and I felt so sick. I ran to the bathroom and threw up, then I just lay down on the floor and screamed and cried. My dorm mates didn't hear because I had a Silencing Charm on myself.

I still feel so sick. In my mind, in my stomach... My whole body feels sick. I can't stop having these nightmares. They're about everything bad that's ever happened to me, and I think it's killing me. It's driving me crazy.

It makes me want to kill myself sometimes.

Help me...


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Nicky: Thanks much for the idea! *grin*

****

To other reviewers: Thanks!

Rest in Peace, Richard Harris. You will be missed. 

In this chapter: A letter…An alert…Does Harry know what he's doing? And then a bit of sadness/sappiness, this time Remus/Sirius

****

~~~

__

October 12, 1996

To everyone I love:

I can't take it anymore. My mind is so mixed up that I can't tell what's real or not. I can't handle the pain. My mind hurts, my body hurts, and I'm so scared. I feel like my energy is slowly draining from my body. I feel like I'm dying, a little bit at a time. I'm never going to get better until I die.

So I will die.

****

To Dad, Daddy, Kayla, and Sean: I love you all. I'm sorry I have to leave you like this, but there is no other way. We tried. I haven't gotten any better, I've become worse. I'm sorry. Please forget about me after I'm gone. It does no good to dwell on the past.

****

To Professor Dumbledore: Thank you for all of the guidance you've given me since I was eleven. I learned many great lessons from you, and I truly appreciate them.

****

To Hermione: I love you like you're my sister, and I always will, even after I'm gone. Work hard, reach for the stars, and I know you'll get everything you've always wanted. Have fun being Head Girl next year.

****

To the Weasleys: You all were the first family I ever remember having. You welcomed me into your home with open arms, you took care of me, and you treated me like one of your own, and for that, I owe you the world. You have no idea how much that means to me. I love you all.

****

To Bill and George: Thank you for being the most amazing older brothers a kid can ask for. You've both helped me more than you know. I love you.

****

To Ron: I forgive you. Thank you for the many years of friendship.

****

To Severus and Katie: You, also, took me in as your own whenever I needed someone. Severus, I forgive you for the way you treated me throughout my first four years. You've more than made up for it. I love you both, and Catherine, too.

****

And finally, to Draco: You mean the world to me. You've been there for me through everything since the beginning of fifth year. I love you more than anything, and I'm sorry that I have to do this to you, but it's for the best. My love, my angel, my darling. My knight in shining armor. My heart is your heart, forever. I love you.

Again, I'm sorry. But we will all be better off after I'm gone. I love you. Goodbye.

Harry Potter

****

P.S.-Please don't put 'The Boy Who Lived' or anything like that on my headstone. I'm not worthy of any title.

~~~

In Egypt, a necklace belonging to a twenty-something red-haired man began to glow, and a message appeared in the air in front of him. His eyes widened, and he Apparated instantly to The Burrow. Ignoring the questions from his mother, Bill Weasley ran to the fireplace, threw some Floo powder in, and called up Remus Lupin.

"Find Harry," Bill said before Remus could speak. "Find him right now. He's going to try to kill himself."

Remus's face paled, and the connection was immediately broken.

~~~

"Albus!" Remus shouted, running into the Headmaster's office. He ignored the fact that there were several other teachers in the room. "Albus, use that locator to find Harry. _Now_."

Sensing the urgency of the situation, Albus removed a small, handheld remote with a screen from his desk. He spoke the name 'Harry Potter' and pressed a button, then waited to see what the locator brought up.

"He's in the passage to Honeydukes," Albus told Remus, who immediately ran out of the room. 

Remus ran to the secret passage behind the one-eyed witch and lit his wand. The tunnel was dim, but Remus could see clearly. He listened closely with his sharpened werewolf senses, but he heard nothing.

Suddenly, he saw Harry. The boy was sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall, and he held a knife in his hand. He made tiny cuts on his exposed arm at first, but quickly made them bigger. Remus rushed to him just as Harry made a four-inch slit on the inside of his forearm.

"Harry!" Remus cried, throwing himself to his knees and snatching the knife away. He threw the knife to the ground and pulled his son into his arms.

"Daddy?" Harry's voice was tired and weak, and his eyes were unfocused as he looked up at his father. "Daddy, what's going on? Why do I hurt so bad? Why is everything getting dark?"

"Shush, Harry, try to stay awake, okay?" Remus choked out through his tears. 

He lifted the boy up and began to run. As soon as he exited the passage, he sprinted up the stairs to the infirmary.By the time he got there, Harry was unconscious, and Madame Pomfrey, Dumbledore, and Sirius were all waiting for them.

Remus left Harry in Poppy's care, and she drew the curtain around Harry's bed. Sirius drew his husband into an embrace, and the two just cried for a few moments. Just as they pulled away, George and Bill burst into the room, followed by Draco and Severus. Bill handed Sirius a journal.

"That's the journal I gave to Harry," he said, softly. "I have it charmed so that if he writes anything like a suicide note, I would be alerted. As soon as my necklace started glowing, the note appeared in front of me, and I Apparated to Mum and Dad's house and called Remus."

"He was in the Honeydukes passage," Remus whispered, folding his arms across his chest and staring at the floor. "He cut his wrist open. When I got to him and stopped him, he looked at me, but it was like he didn't really see me. He was so unfocused. Then he was asking me questions, like he didn't know what was going on..."

"Remus, Sirius," Poppy said as she stepped from behind the curtain. "The cuts healed easily, and he's awake. He said he feels sick, so I gave him an Anti-Nausea potion. He wants you."

Remus and Sirius stepped behind the curtain and sat on either side of Harry's bed, each holding one of his hands. Harry sat up and looked at them, confused, for a moment. Then his eyes began to focus, and then it was like recognition dawned on him.

"What happened?" Harry murmured, tiredly. 

"Don't you remember?" Remus asked, softly. Harry shook his head. "You tried to kill yourself, Harry." Harry's eyes widened, and he shook his head.

"No...no, I wouldn't do that..." he insisted. He glanced between his fathers. "Would I?"

"You did, Harry," Sirius told him, gently. "Daddy found you in a secret passage. You slit your wrist."

At this, Harry's face paled, and his upper body swayed a little. Sirius moved to sit on the bed and held Harry steady. Harry curled up in Sirius's arms, and Sirius held him as though he were a small child.

"But I--I would've remembered, right?" Harry protested, weakly. "If I did that, I would have remembered..."

"With how mixed up your head's been, it's no surprise you don't remember," Sirius murmured. Harry laid his head on Sirius's chest and closed his eyes.

"I feel sick, Dad..."

"Shh, sweetheart, I know," Sirius said, soothingly, like he would with Kayla. He rubbed Harry's back and ran his fingers through the boy's hair. "Poppy gave you an Anti-Nausea Potion so you don't get sick, all right? Relax."

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled. "I still don't think I'd try to kill myself... But if you said I did, I believe you. I'm sorry..."

Remus hesitated, then handed Harry his journal. It was opened to the last entry, the suicide note, and Harry read it. He paled even more, and he dropped the book as his hands began to shake.

"I didn't-- Did I write this?" Harry whispered, mostly to himself. He brought his hands up to his face, and tears sprang to his eyes. "What the hell is going on? I'm so confused..."

"Oh, Harry," Remus sighed, reaching over to rest his hand on his son's hair. "Dad and I are doing everything we can to help you and figure out what's wrong with you. I'm so sorry you have to suffer like this."

"Do you want to go home for a few days, buddy?" Sirius asked, softly. "I'm sure Poppy will let you out, as long as you're with us." Harry nodded, and Sirius kissed the top of his head. "All right. I'll go out and talk to her. You stay in here with Daddy."

Sirius emerged from behind the curtains and was immediately bombarded by stares from those waiting in there. He pulled Poppy aside.

"He doesn't remember anything," Sirius sighed. "He's so confused, Poppy. He swears he wouldn't try to kill himself, and he didn't remember writing the note."

"There's got to be Dark Magic involved in all of this," Poppy commented, softly. "But I couldn't detect any."

"He hasn't been the same since before he went to Diagon Alley with George," Sirius added."He was crowded by a group of people_, _and he panicked, badly. He hasn't been the same since... Remus and I were hoping you'd let him go, so that we could take him home for a few days. Please? We'll keep our eyes on him, we won't let him out of our sight."

~~~

That night, Harry lay in bed with his fathers, too scared of himself to sleep by himself. Sean and Kayla were staying overnight at a friend's house, so it was just Harry, Sirius, and Remus that night. Sirius and Remus lay on either side of their son, each with a protective arm around him. Harry was asleep already, but Sirius and Remus were awake and talking quietly over Harry's head.

"I remember when he was a baby," Remus murmured, smiling as Harry cuddled closer to his chest. "Every time he'd lay down with us, he'd always cuddle with me more than you."

"But before he fell asleep, he wouldn't go anywhere near you," Sirius shot back, chuckling. "He'd always stay close to me." Remus sighed and gently rubbed Harry's back.

"Back then, we never even considered the possibility of things happening the way they did," he said, softly. "Never thought James and Lily would be killed... Never thought you would be arrested... Never thought Harry would grow up the way he did... The only thing I considered before all of that happened was me and you, getting married, having some kids..."

"There's _one_ thing that happened right," Sirius agreed. 

"But it didn't," Remus protested, sadly. "We were supposed to get married when we were in our mid-twenties, not mid-thirties. We weren't supposed to miss out on twelve years of our life together. And I love Harry, but he wasn't supposed to be our son..."

"I know, love, but we can't dwell on the way things _should_ have been," Sirius told him. "We need to focus on the way things _are_. And that means taking care of Harry and helping him beat whatever's wrong with him."

"I know," Remus sighed, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "But I just can't help thinking of how things would be now if Lily and James were still alive. I miss them, Siri."

"I miss them, too, sweetheart. But seeing Harry every day, it's like they're still alive, and I plan on keeping it that way. If he dies, then it's not only our son dying, but Lily and James will be dying all over again. I'm not letting that happen."


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

I'm sorry it's taken a while for this chapter. I've been trying hard to write, but with another story, plus school work, plus One-Acts practices, it's taking its toll. I'll do better in the future! *grin*

In this chapter: Read and find out…We learn something

****

~~~

One evening in late October, Draco was walking towards the Hogwarts castle from the Quidditch pitch. It had begun to rain while he was flying, and he wanted to get inside before he got soaked.

On his way in, he spotted a figure sitting on a bench by the lake. To his surprise, he saw that it was Harry, and he sat with his knees pulled to his chest as he stared off into space. Draco ran over to him and touched his shoulder, but Harry didn't even flinch.

"Harry, what are you doing out here in the rain?" Draco asked, softly, as he sat next to Harry.

"It's raining?" Harry murmured, glancing up. "So it is. I didn't notice." Draco frowned.

"Come inside," he requested. "You're going to get sick if you stay out here." Harry laughed bitterly.

"I'm already sick," he muttered. "It can't get any worse than this..." He sighed, shaking his head. "I know what's wrong with me, Draco. I had a dream about That Month while I was at home. Lucius made me drink a potion... It was red. After I drank it, this red light surrounded me, and I felt a sharp pain all through my body.

"I researched it and found out that the potion caused my mind to get all screwed up, and it caused a kind of depression... There's no known cure. All previous victims ended up dying less than two years after it happened..."

"Oh, Harry," Draco whispered, wrapping his arms around Harry as he began to cry silently.

"I don't know what to do..." Harry choked out. "I don't want to die, but if this keeps up, I'm scared I'm going to try to kill myself again..."

"Don't say that, honey, we'll figure something out," Draco insisted, tears springing to his own eyes. "I won't let you kill yourself. We'll tell my dad, and Remus and Sirius. They'll know what to do. They always do." 

He stood up from the bench and gently helped Harry up. Harry took a breath and closed his eyes, leaning against Draco. The blond sighed softly and lifted his shivering boyfriend up, discovering that Harry was still severely underweight. Draco carried Harry quickly into the castle and up to Remus's quarters.

"Harry, are you okay?" Remus asked, panicking a little when he saw his son in Draco's arms. 

"I found him sitting out by the lake, in the rain," Draco explained. "I think he's caught a cold."

Remus took Harry from Draco and took him over to the sofa. Remus performed a Drying Spell on Harry, then covered him with a few blankets.

"What were you doing outside in the rain, Harry?" Remus asked, softly, as he smoothed the shivering boy's hair from his forehead. 

"Thinking," Harry muttered, closing his eyes. "Draco can explain... Can I go to sleep?"

"Sure, sweetheart," Remus agreed. He kissed Harry's forehead. "Draco and I will be in the kitchen, if you need anything."

Remus poured two cups of tea for himself and Draco, and the two sat down at the kitchen table. Draco held his cup on the tabletop with both hands, not drinking from it, but staring at it. The angry look in Draco's eyes made Remus wonder if perhaps the cup would shatter anytime soon.

"Lucius gave Harry a potion that screwed up his mind and caused depression," Draco hissed after a moment. He let go of his cup and folded his hands, leaning over to rest his forehead on his hands. "Harry's researched it. There's no cure. All previous victims lasted less than two years. If Lucius wasn't dead already, I would fucking torture him to death with my bare hands..."

"Did he remember anything about the potion?" Remus asked, rubbing his hand over his face.

"He said that he remembered it in a dream," Draco explained. "The potion was red, and after he drank it, a red light surrounded him, and then he felt a sharp pain throughout his body. That's all he told me."

"When he wakes up, we'll have to ask him," Remus murmured, more to himself than Draco. "Need to talk to Severus about this..."

"I'll tell him," Draco sighed, standing up. "I have to go downstairs, anyway. Tell Harry I'm going to come and see him tomorrow morning."

When Draco entered his and Severus's quarters, he found his father sitting at the table, correcting papers. Severus didn't look up as he spoke to his son.

"It's late," he stated. Draco looked at his watch and saw that it was just after curfew.

"Sorry. I was upstairs with Harry and Remus. Um...I found Harry outside in the rain, and we talked, and I brought him in. He knows what's wrong with him." 

At this statement, Severus looked up, raising his eyebrows. Draco continued to explain.

"He had a dream. Lucius gave him a potion. Messed up his mind and caused depression. Harry's researched it and said there's no cure, and that all of the previous victims of the potion lasted less than two years."

At these words, Severus's face paled. Draco watched him curiously as Severus seemed to be thinking to himself. Finally, the older man spoke up.

"What does he remember about the potion?"

"It was red. A red light surrounded him after he drank it, and then there was pain all through his body. Do you know what it is?" Severus gave a mirthless laugh.

"Do I know what it is?" he repeated. He sighed, shaking his head. "I was one of the people who helped develop it, back when I was a...Death Eater... Merlin, how did I not recognize the signs?!"

Severus rose from his chair and began to pace back and forth across the floor, clutching his head in his hands and muttering to himself. Draco watched, a shocked and worried expression on his face.

"Dad?" he said, uncertainly. "Dad, please, you're kind of scaring me."

Severus stopped pacing and dropped down to the sofa, his head in his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees. Draco sat next to his father and placed a hand on his back.

"It's called the Mentalius Potion," Severus explained, softly. "Back when I was about nineteen, I helped to create it, along with two other Death Eaters. It causes depression, yes, and a form of schizophrenia. The victim is fine one minute, and then nearly insane the next. When they're on the down-side of the depression, they do things without even realizing it. It's kind of like a form of the Imperius, where they're in a sort of trance. Once they do whatever they've done, they break from the trance and don't remember anything about it. It's like there's another person in their body and mind, doing those things."

"Like Harry's suicide attempt," Draco murmured. Severus nodded in affirmation. "Do you know of the cure, then?"

"I spent a great deal of time trying to develop a remedy for Mentalius," Severus sighed. "I came quite close to figuring it out, about two or three years ago, but then a lot of things came up and started to go out of control, so I dropped the project. I may still have the notes somewhere around here, however."

"I hope so," Draco said, softly, as he stood up. "The pressure's on you now, Dad. I think it's all up to you."

"I'm sorry, Draco." Severus's voice was laced with guilt. "I never would have thought-- Oh, bloody hell. Forget about it. I'll search for those notes. You go to bed."

"Good night, Dad. Don't stay up too late, all right? And you might feel guilty, but don't beat yourself up about it. You're not to blame."


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Nicky: Not necessarily. LoL

In this chapter: Solutions and Apologies

****

~~~

The next day, everyone gathered in Remus's suite: Albus, Sirius, Remus, Harry, Sean, Kayla, George, Severus, Draco, and even Katie came with the baby. They all sat around the living room, Harry nestled between Sirius and Draco.

"I suppose everyone should be told exactly what's going on," Severus said, softly. "And I guess I'll have to be the one to explain it. 

"Lucius Malfoy forced Harry to drink a potion called the Mentalius Potion. I, and a couple of others, developed it about sixteen or seventeen years ago. It causes depression and a kind of schizophrenia, where the victim is fine one minute, and the next, severely depressed. They do things without realizing it, and they don't remember those things.

"The potion also causes the victim to relive their bad memories through their nightmares. These nightmares get worse as time goes on, and the victim may become suicidal, though they're not really; it's like the potion controls how they feel. There have been, as far as I know, twenty-seven victims. All but two of them committed suicide. The other two are in St. Mungo's.

"I spent years trying to find the cure for Mentalius, and two or three years ago, I came quite close. But by that time, things here were getting hectic, and I didn't have time to finish it. Last night, I searched my office and found my notes. I promise you all, I _will_ find a cure."

"Until then, what happens to me?" Harry asked in a small voice. "I don't want to die... I don't want to kill myself."

"We won't let you kill yourself, Harry," Sirius murmured, holding his son close.

"I would certainly feel better if there was someone keeping an eye on Harry at all times," Remus said, softly. "I know, we discussed something like this before, but I think the circumstances are a little different now."

"I don't care what you do," Harry whispered. "Just don't let me kill myself, _please_."

"We won't," Sirius promised again. "How about Kayla, Sean, and I come and stay here at Hogwarts with you and Daddy? Would you like that?" Harry nodded.

"I suppose I should let all of Harry's teachers know what is going on," Albus stated. "Remus, you have your own classes to teach, and Sirius, you'll be watching the children a lot of the time, so it would be a good idea for his other teachers to keep an eye on him.

"Harry, would you like to live here with your family, instead of Gryffindor Tower? At least for the time being."

"Yes, please."

~~~

Sirius, Kayla, and Sean had moved into Remus's rooms in Hogwarts by the next night, as had Harry. Sirius made sure to bring Peachy and Midnight with them, and Harry's eyes lit up when he saw that. The animals seemed happy when they saw him, as well. Peachy climbed into Harry's lap on the sofa, and Midnight perched on the arm of the couch.

"Hi, Midnight, hi, Peachy," Harry murmured, cuddling his cat to his chest. He reached up to pat the raven's head.

"Harry!" Kayla squealed, running into the room. "Harry, color with me?"

"Maybe later, sweetie," Harry compromised, kissing Peachy's head and placing her in his sister's arms. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Want to lay down with me?"

"Okay!" 

Harry and Kayla went into Harry's room and climbed under the blankets on his bed. Kayla nestled herself in Harry's arms, giving a content sigh.

"I love you, Harry," Kayla mumbled, immediately sleepy. 

"I love you, too, Kay-Kay," Harry said, softly, as they snuggled down under the warm covers. 

"Harry, are you sick?" Kayla wondered, suddenly. "Dad told me and Sean you're sick."

"Yeah, Kay, I'm sick," Harry sighed, resting his cheek on top of his sister's head. "I'm sick in my mind, but Uncle Severus is trying to make something to stop me being sick anymore. So don't worry." 

"Okay," Kayla yawned. "Uncle Severus can fix it..."

At this, Harry smiled slightly and kissed his sister's forehead.

__

She's probably right, he thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep. _If it has to do with Potions, Severus can do it._

~~~

"Harry, wake up."

A soft voice woke Harry from his sleep, and he turned over onto his back to stare up at Remus, who was shaking him gently. Harry yawned and put on his glasses, then sat up.

"Do you want to go to supper in the Great Hall?" Remus asked. "Or would you like to eat up here? If you want to eat downstairs, Albus has a table for us, away from the other tables."

"Great Hall, I suppose," Harry replied, shrugging his shoulders.

A short while later, Sirius, Remus, Harry, Sean, Kayla, Severus, Draco, George, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione all sat at the separate table in the Great Hall. Harry sat between Draco and George.

"Have a nice nap?" Draco wondered, placing an arm around Harry's waist.

"Mm-hmm," Harry responded, letting Draco feed him a spoonful of soup.

"You two are so incredibly sappy, it's disgusting," George teased.

"_I_ think it's _cute_," Hermione protested, smirking. "Besides, George, you seem to have someone on _your_ mind lately. Who is it?" George blushed.

"None of your concern," he muttered, causing everyone to laugh at him. 

Harry chuckled slightly and shook his head, then laid his head on Draco's shoulder.

"All right if we talk later?" Harry murmured. Draco nodded.

"Of course, love."

After supper, Draco and Harry went to their suite from the year before. They curled up with a blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace, with a cup of hot cocoa to share.

"I missed this," Harry said, softly. "I missed _you_... I'm sorry, Draco, for anything and everything bad that I've done to you..."

"I know you are, honey," Draco told him, kissing his temple. "I know you didn't mean any of it."

"I love you," Harry whispered. "More than anything. And I know Severus will cure me, and everything will be back to normal."

"I love you, too, darling. And you're right. Everything will be fine, and the rest of the year will be completely normal."


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Nicky and** dracolover:** You caught me. Normal? Doubtful. Happy? Yes. *grin* I promise, nothing bad will happen for the rest of this story.

In this chapter: Yay!

****

~~~

One afternoon in mid-November, George went into the Snape chambers and found Draco sitting on a couch, reading a book. 

"_The Differences Between Muggle and Magic Marriages_?" George read the title from the book. 

At the sound of his voice, Draco quickly closed the book and looked up, cheeks slightly pink.

"Project for Muggle Studies," he explained, though he spoke it as more of a question than a statement. "What's up? What are you down here for?"

"Severus figured out the cure," George said, his eyes sparkling. "Everyone's in the hospital wing. Harry wants us up there when it happens."

Draco jumped off of the couch, and the two ran up to the infirmary. Harry was in there, as were the rest of the Lupin-Black family, Albus, Severus, and Poppy. Harry lay on his bed, and Remus and Severus sat on either side of him. In Severus's hand was a large phial of a green potion.

"Good, we're all here," Severus stated. "Before I give Harry the potion, I want to explain what will happen.

"Within five minutes of taking the potion, Harry will fall into a deep sleep. While unconscious, he will relive all of his memories from the day he was given the Mentalius Potion until now. In an unconscious state, time will be different for him. It will seem to him like he is going through those memories at a normal rate of time, but in reality, it will only be a day, or two at most.

"The pain he felt in a lot of those memories, he will feel it again, but it won't be nearly as bad. We can give him small amounts of Pain Potions, but not too much because it will react to the cure potion. Also, someone will have to stay with him at all times, in case something should go wrong. We will keep his breathing and heart rate monitored constantly. I was thinking that we could have two hour shifts, where one of us would stay with him."

"I'll be first," Sirius volunteered. 

"Are you ready, Harry?" Severus asked. Harry nodded. "All right. I'm not sure how bad this will taste. If it's terrible, I'm sorry, but you must drink all of it."

With Severus's help, Harry downed the whole bottle of potion. When he finished, he grimaced slightly.

"Not _too_ bad," he choked out.

When Harry fell asleep, Sirius transformed into 'Padfoot' and curled up next to him on the bed. The others in the room worked out a shift schedule, and then they left Harry and Sirius.

Within minutes, Harry started to whimper, shifting slightly in his sleep. Sirius snuggled closer to Harry and nuzzled his neck, licking him affectionately. Harry calmed down a little, but not much.

~~~

This went on for the next thirty-four hours. Sirius, Remus, Draco, George, and Severus each took turns staying with Harry until he woke up. It turned out that the effects of Harry's memories were more mild when someone was lying down with him, so that's what they did most of the time.

After the thirty-fourth hour, Draco came into the infirmary to sit with Harry. He lay down on the bed, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. Draco liked to take this time to just cuddle with Harry and rest, but he wouldn't be able to do that today. Soon after Draco lay down, Harry moaned quietly and opened his eyes. He looked at Draco and smiled slightly.

"How are you feeling, love?" Draco murmured before placing a kiss on Harry's forehead.

"Good..." Harry yawned. "Better..."

Draco picked up his wand and tapped it to his necklace. Within minutes, Severus came into the infirmary, along with Sirius and Madam Pomfrey.

"Good, you're awake," Severus greeted Harry. "Are you feeling all right?" Harry nodded. "All right, I'm going to perform a spell that will tell us if the potion worked and if there is any of the Mentalius leftover in your body."

Severus pointed his wand at Harry and spoke an incantation. He sighed with relief when a green light appeared around Harry for a moment.

"It worked," Severus stated.

Nobody spoke or moved for a moment. Then Harry suddenly threw his arms around Severus in a hug.

"Thank you," Harry whispered, tears streaming from his eyes.

"You're welcome, Harry, but it's not over yet," Severus admitted, and Harry backed away to look at him. "It may take several days for the depression to completely disappear. And now you know everything you've done over the past few months, even if you didn't know before that you did it. You'll have to deal with all of that in your mind, but I don't think it should be too bad. You'll be fine within a week."

"We owe you, Severus," Sirius said, softly, as the other man got up to leave. Severus looked back at him and shook his head.

"You owe me nothing. It was partially my fault that he was given the potion in the first place. If hadn't helped develop it, then I can almost guarantee it wouldn't exist today. Besides, I couldn't just let Harry suffer like that."

With that, Severus left the room. Sirius sat next to Harry and wrapped the boy in his arms, and Draco did the same.

"Harry, do you want to go back to our rooms, or do you want to stay up here?" Sirius wondered, already knowing the answer. He knew Harry was sick of the hospital wing.

"Our rooms," Harry replied. "Draco, you want to come?"

"Sure, honey," Draco agreed.

The three went to the Lupin-Black suite, where Remus was playing Exploding Snap with Sean and Kayla. Harry went to sit next to Remus on the couch and laid his head on Remus's shoulder, wrapping his arms around him. Remus smiled slightly and kissed the top of Harry's head.

"Do you want something?"

Harry shook his head and nestled himself closer to his father.

"I'm just in a particularly cuddly mood," he murmured. "And I'm cold."

At that, Remus Summoned a blanket and wrapped it tightly around Harry, then hugged him gently.

"How'd it go?" he asked, softly.

"Severus said it worked," Sirius replied. "But he also said the depression won't completely disappear for a few days yet."

"Perhaps somebody should put Harry to bed," Remus commented, nodding towards the boy who was now asleep on his shoulder.

"I'll take him," Draco offered.

He carefully lifted Harry into his arms, blanket and all, and took him into his bedroom. He lowered Harry to the bed and tucked him in under the covers. Harry shifted slightly, but didn't wake. Draco leaned over to place a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead.

"I love you, my darling," he whispered.

He turned to leave, but a quiet voice stopped him.

"I love you, too, my Dragon..." Harry murmured, a soft smile gracing his lips as he slept.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

****

Author Notes:

Two chapters in one day! Awesome! Well, this story's nearly over. Just a couple more chapters, I'd say. Not sure exactly how many, but not a lot. But don't worry: I'm planning *another* sequel! Unless you don't want it, of course… Just let me know after the story's done.

In this chapter: Draco annoys Sev, a trip to Hogsmeade, we find out George's secret (don't hate me, please…I can't warn you because that'll give it away, but please, just don't hate me!) Also, Draco's a little romantic *aw!*

I'll shut up now.

****

~~~

"Dad!" Draco called as he ran into his father's classroom several days later. "Dad!"

"For Merlin's sake, Draco, don't you realize that I have a class this hour?" Severus hissed, gesturing towards the fifth-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who were now staring at them. "Get back to work!"

Severus then took Draco into his office and shut the door. He was about to scold his son for interrupting the class, but Draco cut him off.

"I'm sorry, Dad, but this is _really_ important!" he pleaded. "I need to go to Hogsmeade."

"_That's_ really important?" Severus asked, incredulously. "And why aren't you in class?!"

"Remus cancelled; I don't know, something about Sirius, Sean, and Kayla all being sick, he went home for the night. Anyway, Defense was supposed to be my last class today, and I _really_ need to go to Hogsmeade. Can I? Please?"

"Can't it wait?" Severus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can't take you, and you can't go alone."

"No, it _can't_ wait, and I'm not going alone! George is going with me. _Please_, Dad, you have no idea how important it is that I go to Hogsmeade _today_!"

"_Why_ do you have to go today?" Severus wondered.

"I can't tell you," Draco sighed. "It's a surprise; George is the only one who knows. Daddy, _please_, I'll do anything, just let me go!"

Severus stared at his son for a moment. The pleading look in his eyes and the whiny tone in his voice were too much to handle, combined. He gave in.

"Bloody hell, just go," Severus muttered. "When will you be back?"

"Um...a few hours?" Draco said, hopefully. "I'll be back in time for supper."

"Go on, then. This better be worth it."

"Oh, it is," Draco promised, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Half an hour later, Draco and George were walking through Hogsmeade, trying to decide where to go first. They decided to make a stop in the _Weasley Wizard Wheezes_ shop, to visit Fred. There weren't many customers in the store, so the three of them went into a back room to talk. Draco was surprised, to say the least, when George wrapped his arms around his twin and kissed him gently. 

"Missed you," George murmured. He chuckled when he saw Draco's shocked expression. "I know your secret; it's only fair that now you know mine."

"So _he's_ who has been on your mind lately?" Draco guessed after getting over the initial shock.

"But of course," George replied, smiling lovingly at Fred, who smiled back. "Not many people know, so you best keep your mouth shut."

"My lips are zipped," Draco promised.

"So what brings you two out here on a school day?" Fred wondered, running his fingers up and down George's back.

"Eh, Draco needed a chaperone," George replied. "He's planning this big romantic night for him and Harry, and he's going to--Ow!"

George's explanation was interrupted by a kick to his leg from Draco.

"I was just going to say that you need to buy some things," George muttered, innocently. His eyes brightened as he continued to speak to Fred. "Anyway, we couldn't decide where to go first, so I suggested that we come visit you because I missed you _soo_ much."

"I missed you, too," Fred responded, kissing George's temple. "I wish you'd come visit me more."

"I'm trying," George sighed. "But with Quidditch and my Head of House duties, and worrying about Harry... It takes a lot out of me."

"How _is_ Harry?" Fred asked, looking back and forth from George to Draco. 

"He's doing a lot better," Draco responded. "Dad's antidote really worked."

"That's good," Fred commented. "Send him my love, and tell him _he_ needs to visit me, too. There are some jokes here with his name on them."

"Will do," Draco promised. "George, we need to get going. I told Dad I'd be home in time for supper. Of course, if you want to stay here with Fred, I can go by myself--"

"Yeah, right," George cut him off. "You're not going _anywhere_ alone." He gave Fred an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, love, but he's my responsibility today. I need to look out for him."

"Quite all right," Fred assured him. "I need to do inventory and stuff, anyway."

George gave Fred a quick goodbye kiss, and then he and Draco left.

"Let me see your list," George requested, and Draco handed him a piece of parchment.

****

Things To Buy

-Roses

-Candles

-Music

-Silk pajamas

-

"Silk pajamas?" 

"Why not?" Draco replied, defensively. "We both like silk pajamas, and we like _cuddling_ in silk pajamas. I don't know, I just have this picture of how I want it to be, down to every last detail. Roses and candles all around the room, music playing. We eat dinner, then put on silk pajamas and curl up with a blanket in front of the fireplace, and then...I do it."

"Fine, fine, silk pajamas it is, then," George laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "What about dinner?"

"Well, I can't cook worth a damn, and I don't want to poison him," Draco said, blushing slightly. "So it's going to be a house-elf cooked meal."

"When in doubt, talk to the house elves," George agreed, solemnly. He suddenly smirked. "Just make sure they don't give you _too_ much."

Two hours later, they'd gotten almost everything on the list. Draco had taken his time with everything because it had to be _exactly right_. He bought four dozen roses, all perfectly red and perfectly alive (actually, they wouldn't die). He bought a couple of boxes of candles, and then some Muggle music (a CD of popular Muggle instrumental ballads). Finally, he bought two sets of silk pajamas: one in green, the other in blue.

"Only one thing left, and it's the most important," George commented.

The two headed into a jewelry shop, and George led Draco over to a counter that had all kinds of rings displayed. They just looked at the rings for a moment, before a woman came up behind the counter.

"May I help you?" she asked, smiling at the two.

"I need to buy a ring," Draco stated. "For my boyfriend."

"I think you'll need to be a bit more specific than that, kid," George teased.

"Is there any specific kind of ring you want?" the woman, Martha, asked, gently. "Maybe we can narrow the selection down as we go along."

"Um... Do you have platinum?" Draco wondered.

Martha pulled out a tray of platinum rings and placed it on top of the counter. Draco and George examined the rings.

"Do you want a plain band, or would you like a stone in it?" Martha wondered.

"I want a stone," Draco replied. "But I don't know if I want it to be a diamond... I was thinking an emerald, but then, he's sick of people getting him things that match his eyes."

"He likes diamonds," George told him. "The smaller ones, not the huge, gaudy ones."

"Okay, a diamond, then," Draco agreed. "But I want it inset, in the band."

Martha browsed through the rings for a moment, then pulled one out and showed it to Draco. It was a simple platinum band with a small diamond sitting right in the middle.

"That's perfect," Draco said. "And can I get something engraved on the inside of the band?"

"Of course, dear," Martha replied. "What would you like?"

"I want it to say 'My heart is your heart forever,'" Draco told her.

"It costs extra for each letter," Martha told him. Draco shook his head.

"I don't care how much it costs," he said, softly. "If the perfect ring cost a million Galleons, I would pay it. He's worth it."

~~~

Okay, so this story now contains "twincest." Again, don't hate me if you don't like that. I promise it doesn't get any more graphic than that.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

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Author Notes:

This is the last chapter of "The Long Hard Road." But have no fear: There will be a sequel! *grin* Remember, be nice and review.

In this chapter: Lots of fluffy romance and happy stuff

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~~~

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My Love,

Come to our suite at 6:00 tonight. The door won't let you in until precisely 6:00. Dress nicely.

Yours,

Draco

Harry read the note again as he stood in front of the door to their suite two nights later. He was clad in Muggle clothes: black shoes, black slacks, white shirt, black jacket, and black tie. He hadn't managed to get his hair to sit right, but that was expected. He chuckled to himself as he looked at his watch once again: 5:59.

__

Why am I so nervous? Harry asked himself. _I've been going out with Draco for over a year. Why am I suddenly getting nervous about a date now?_

Suddenly, the door opened, and Harry stepped inside. Roses sat in every corner of the dining room, and the only light in the room came from the candles. Soft music echoed through the entire suite. Dinner was set out on the dining room table: pasta, salad, bread, and nonalcoholic wine. 

Draco entered the room, dressed similarly to Harry. He smiled at his lover and gave him a tiny kiss.

"Good evening, my love," Draco murmured against Harry's lips.

"It's beautiful, Draco," Harry said, softly, once they'd pulled away.

Draco pulled Harry's chair out for him, then gently pushed it back in as Harry sat down. Then Draco went to the opposite side of the table and sat in his own chair. 

"What's the occasion?" Harry wondered as the two began to eat.

"Oh, nothing special," Draco replied, nonchalantly. "I just decided that we were due for some romance."

"That we were," Harry agreed with a small smile. "Though somehow I doubt that it's 'nothing special.'" Draco chuckled.

"Anyway, I know Remus and Sirius need you back in their rooms tonight, so I'm planning on making the most of this evening," he said before changing the subject. "What did you do today?"

"Not too much," Harry responded. "Went to my classes, caught up on some of my homework. Wrote a letter to Bill; he's coming to visit tomorrow. Oh, I found out I'm allowed to play in the Quidditch match the day after tomorrow."

"That's great, love!" Draco exclaimed.

"Yeah, I haven't gotten to practice, but it'll be fun," Harry said. "Ron's been doing a good job as captain. We agreed to be co-captains from now on. I watched the team practice yesterday, and they were really good."

"Who are the new players on the team again?" Draco wondered.

"Ginny, Dean, and Colin are Chasers. Seamus and a second-year named Devon are Beaters."

"And you'll be playing Ravenclaw, right? That should be fun."

"Mm-hmm," Harry agreed before swallowing his food. 

After the two finished their supper, they put on the pajamas that Draco had bought (himself in green, and Harry in blue) and went to the living room. A fire was lit in the fireplace, and they sat on the floor, against the sofa, and wrapped a blanket around themselves. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, who laid his head on Draco's shoulder.

"Harry?" Draco said, softly, after a few moments of content silence.

"Hm?"

"I love you." 

Harry smiled and gave a soft sigh.

"I love you, too, Draco," he murmured.

"And I'd love to be able to tell you that every day for the rest of our lives," Draco continued, reaching into his pocket. "I know we're still young, but after we graduate in a year and a half, we'll be old enough by the Ministry's standards; hell, even _before_ we graduate, the legal age is seventeen... Merlin, Harry, I'll just get to it: will you marry me?"

~~~

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Author's Note: I was going to be a bitch and end the story here, but I suppose I'll be nice, just because I don't want to piss off my wonderful reviewers! *grin*

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Around eleven, Harry sauntered into his family's suite, a dreamy smile on his face. He toyed with the ring on the fourth finger of his left hand as he dropped down to the sofa, laying his head in Sirius's lap.

"Judging by that silly grin on your face, I'll assume that your date went well," Sirius teased him, ruffling his hair. "Nice PJs."

"Dad, that was the best night of my life..." Harry murmured. "We had dinner, there were roses and candles all over the place. Music was playing. We changed into these pajamas and curled up in front of the fireplace, and then he..." 

Harry paused for a moment, to wipe the tears of happiness from his eyes. He chuckled a little.

"I'm acting like such a girl..." he muttered. 

At Sirius's questioning look, Harry held up his left hand, showing his father the ring.

"He asked me to marry him."

"He _what_?!" Sirius exclaimed. "But Harry, you're so young--"

"Not right away, of course," Harry cut him off. "By the end of this summer, we'll both be legally old enough, but we'll probably wait until after we graduate."

"Are you sure that's what you really want?" Sirius asked, softly.

"I want it more than anything, Dad," Harry replied, sincerely. "I love Draco, and I'm so happy with him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"Then it's what I want for you," Sirius told him with a smile. He pulled Harry up into a sitting position and hugged him tightly. "Anything that makes you happy, Harry, you have my blessing."

"Thank you," Harry murmured.

He kissed Sirius's cheek, then stood up.

"Where are Daddy and the kids?" he asked. 

Sirius pointed towards Sean and Kayla's bedroom. Harry cautiously entered the room and found Remus in there, tucking the blankets around the kids and kissing their foreheads. He smiled when he saw Harry, who hugged him tightly.

"Have a nice date, buddy?" Remus asked, softly.

"Very nice," Harry replied, smiling as the two of them went into the kitchen. They sat at the table with some hot chocolate. "He asked me to marry him, Daddy."

"And you said yes," Remus stated, lifting Harry's hand to look at the ring. 

"And I said yes," Harry confirmed, nodding his head. "Dad gave me his blessing; do I have yours, Daddy?"

"Of course you do," Remus told him, squeezing his hand. "I couldn't think of anybody better for you than Draco. But you're going to wait a while, right?"

"Yeah, we'll probably wait until after graduation," Harry assured him. 

"Good. Now, it's getting late. You should get to bed and try to get some sleep."

"'Try' being the key word," Harry commented, grinning. "Goodnight, Daddy."

~~~

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Author's Note: 

Again, be on the look out for the next sequel! Byebye for now!


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